LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Flight delays at Harry Reid International Airport skyrocketed into the hundreds on Friday afternoon — but not because of anything happening in Las Vegas.
The delays, impacting many airports across the country, were the result of a massive winter storm pummeling much of the northern United States.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, at least 339 flights into and out of the Las Vegas airport were delayed, according to the flight tracking service Flight Aware.
In addition to hundreds of delays, at least 64 flights had been canceled entirely.
The impact of the freezing rain and blinding snow hitting parts of the country was only compounded by the recent grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9 jets.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding — which included 65 planes operated by Alaska Airlines and 79 operated by United — after a panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight.
No one was seriously hurt, but the incident prompted the FAA to announce an investigation into Boeing's quality control.
