A Hint of Snow, and Hundreds of Flights Canceled in New York

Hey, it's winter. It snows sometimes in New York, so let's not get all hysterical about it, airlines and government and, of course, media.

Anyway, it was snowing in New York -- the forecast was for maybe four inches, tops. [UPDATE -- Mid-afternoon, only a trace of snow had been seen in the Big Apple, and by the end of the day the total accumulation was less than 2 inches!]

Emergency! Emergency! As of mid-morning today, before a snowflake fell, airlines had preemptively canceled more than 400 flights at the three New York airports, with most of the cancellations (110 departures and 113 arrivals) at the hilariously named Newark Liberty International Airport. (The numbers come from FlightStats.com)

This will probably present a better opportunity than the Christmas blizzard to assess to what degree airlines are willy-nilly and preemptively canceling flights to head off the slightest possibility of being slapped with those new fines for excessive tarmac passenger tarmac strandings that the Transportation Department set last spring.

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