U.S. airline stocks traded modestly lower in premarket deals on Monday, as investors reacted to mounting disruption from a powerful winter storm sweeping across large parts of the country.
Sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice spread across wide areas of the U.S. over the weekend, leaving around 118 million people in the eastern third of the country facing severe weather conditions.
The National Weather Service warned that widespread and prolonged travel disruption is likely. Data from flight-tracking site FlightAware showed 818 delays for flights within, into or out of the U.S. on Monday, alongside 3,662 cancellations. On Sunday, conditions were even worse, with 5,596 delays and 11,599 cancellations — levels reminiscent of disruptions last seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In premarket trading, shares of American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) were all down more than 1%. Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways also traded lower.
American Airlines appeared among the most affected carriers, with FlightAware data indicating that close to 20% of its scheduled flights were cancelled on Monday.
Several major airports along the U.S. East Coast — including Boston, New York and Virginia — reported significant inbound and outbound cancellations. Disruptions were also reported at other key hubs, such as Dallas, a major airport center in Texas.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had approved federal emergency disaster declarations for a dozen states, while several additional states and the District of Columbia also issued weather emergency declarations.
The storm is expected to begin moving offshore into the Atlantic later on Monday, although icy and hazardous conditions are forecast to persist in many areas for several more days.