Flight Delays And Airport Impacts: November 29, 2025

Published on Nov 29, 2025, 9:07 am CST

8 min read

Key points

A major winter storm is driving US flight delays November 29 2025, with Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, and Minneapolis Saint Paul at the center of the disruption
The FAA operations plan flags ground delay programs at Chicago and Minneapolis and possible ground stops or delays at Dallas, San Francisco, Washington National, Newark, and Detroit through the afternoon and evening
Local forecasts call for 6 to 12 inches of snow in the Chicago area and heavy snow across the western Great Lakes, creating hazardous road and rail conditions alongside airport disruption
Flight tracking and local media report hundreds of flights already canceled at Chicago airports this morning as the storm ramps up over the Midwest
Holiday volume, lingering staffing strain, and a separate Airbus A320 safety recall mean misconnect risk is elevated even for routes outside the snow belt
Travelers should build extra buffer time, favor morning departures, and consider rerouting around the hardest hit hubs where seats are available

Impact

Where Delays Are Most Likely: Delays and cancellations are most likely at Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, and Minneapolis Saint Paul, with secondary pressure at Dallas Fort Worth, Dallas Love Field, San Francisco, Boston Logan, Denver, and East Coast hubs tied into Midwest flows
Best Times To Fly: Morning departures that leave before the heaviest snow bands and before afternoon FAA programs ramp up offer the best odds of operating, while late day connections through Chicago or Minneapolis are most at risk
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Tight connections through Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, or San Francisco are vulnerable to rolling delays that can strand travelers overnight, so itineraries with longer layovers or routings via unaffected hubs are safer
Onward Travel And Changes: Road and rail links across the Midwest and Great Lakes are also under winter storm warnings, so travelers should expect slower transfers, allow more time to reach airports, and line up flexible hotel and car bookings
What Travelers Should Do Now: Anyone flying today should check flight status repeatedly, enroll in airline alerts, move trips away from Chicago or Minneapolis if possible, and pack for long waits with chargers, snacks, and critical medications

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A powerful winter storm sweeping the Midwest is the main driver of US flight delays November 29 2025, with Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), and Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) already seeing heavy disruption and more to come as snow intensifies. FAA planners are signaling formal ground delay programs for Chicago and Minneapolis and possible ground stops or delay programs for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) as traffic banks collide with deteriorating weather. For travelers, this means that any itinerary touching the upper Midwest today should be treated as fragile, and even flyers routed through Dallas, Denver International Airport (DEN), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), and East Coast hubs need backup plans.

In plain language, US flight delays November 29 2025 are being driven by a classic Great Lakes winter storm that is forcing the FAA to meter traffic into key hubs like Chicago and Minneapolis while holiday demand and knock on congestion ripple into Dallas, San Francisco, and Northeast corridors.

Midwest Snow Puts Chicago And Minneapolis In The Crosshairs

The National Weather Service has winter storm warnings in effect across a broad swath of the Midwest and western Great Lakes, with forecasts calling for 6 to 12 inches of snow in and around Chicago and similar totals in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. NWS Chicago's morning update explicitly warns of significant travel impacts today and tonight, highlighting periods of heavy snow, gusty winds, and sharply reduced visibility that will complicate both airport operations and interstate driving.

Local media already report that more than 500 flights have been canceled at Chicago's airports this morning as the first rounds of snow move through, with numbers likely to increase as bands intensify and as airlines preemptively trim schedules to keep operations manageable. Chicago O'Hare is again one of the hardest hit hubs in the country, and Midway is seeing similar patterns across dense short haul networks that connect into the same storm belt.

Minneapolis Saint Paul, which sits closer to the core of the broader snow shield, is also flagged in FAA planning as a candidate for a formal ground delay program later in the day as conditions deteriorate and deicing queues grow. Even where runways and taxiways remain technically open, the combination of snow removal, deicing, and required spacing in low visibility almost guarantees slower arrival and departure rates than a normal Saturday.

FAA Programs And Ripple Effects At Other Hubs

The FAA's current operations plan for November 29 calls for ground delay programs at Chicago's airports and a probable program at Minneapolis, along with the option to trigger ground stops or delay programs at Dallas Fort Worth, Dallas Love Field, San Francisco, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) as the day evolves. Terminal constraints listed in the same plan include strong winds around BOS and the New York TRACON, low ceilings, snow and reduced visibility around Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Denver's mountain arrivals, and episodes of low cloud and showers around Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), San Antonio International Airport (SAT), Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and San Francisco.

For travelers, this translates into three distinct risks. First, direct flights into the storm zone are most likely to be canceled or heavily delayed. Second, even clear sky hubs like Dallas or Miami International Airport (MIA) can see inbound holds and metering when their traffic flows intersect with constrained Midwest airspace. Third, connections that rely on tight banks in Chicago, Minneapolis, or Detroit are vulnerable to cascading misconnects if an early inbound is pushed late by deicing or air traffic control holds.

The operations plan also notes continued use of "Snowbird" routes, which are seasonal flow management tools used to handle dense winter traffic between the Northeast and Florida or the Caribbean. These routes help keep the system safe but can add a few minutes of extra flying time, which matters when storms and congestion are already eating into buffers.

Layered On Top Of A Strained Holiday Season

All of this is hitting in the first major post shutdown holiday period, after the FAA formally lifted emergency flight caps on November 17 and returned to normal scheduling rules for US airlines. That decision removed a structural drag on capacity, but it did not magically resolve staffing fragility at individual facilities or airlines, which means there is less slack in the system when a large storm arrives.

In parallel, a separate global recall of certain Airbus A320 family jets, prompted by a software safety directive, is forcing carriers in Asia and Europe to ground and reschedule flights for inspections and updates. Most of that disruption is outside the United States, but travelers booked on international itineraries that mix US hubs with overseas A320 operations should expect a higher than normal chance of last minute swaps or cancellations even if their US segment looks fine. Adept Traveler's separate A320 safety notice briefing digs into that story in more detail for long haul planners.

How Ground Delay Programs And Ground Stops Work

If your airline app shows "GDP" or a ground delay program for Chicago or Minneapolis, that means the FAA is deliberately spacing arrivals by assigning controlled departure times at origin airports into those hubs. Instead of launching every aircraft on schedule and letting them stack up in holding patterns, the system keeps airplanes on the ground until airspace and runway capacity can safely handle them. This reduces airborne holding and fuel burn, but it also means a flight that looks perfectly safe at origin can still leave hours late because its landing slot at destination has been pushed back.

A ground stop is more severe. When the FAA issues a ground stop for an airport, flights that have not yet left their origins are held entirely, often for abrupt weather shifts, runway closures, or short term air traffic control issues. Today, the operations plan treats ground stops at Dallas, San Francisco, Washington National, Newark, and Detroit as possibilities rather than certainties, but even the possibility is a cue for travelers to build extra buffer into connections that pass through those hubs.

Practical Advice For Travelers Today

Anyone booked through Chicago or Minneapolis today should start by assuming their original schedule will slip. Morning departures are still the best bet, especially those that can get airborne before the heaviest snow bands arrive and before afternoon deicing queues lengthen. Where fare rules and seat availability allow, moving to an earlier flight or routing around the Midwest entirely, for example via Atlanta or a southern hub, is often worth the effort when a major winter storm is in play.

Check flight status repeatedly rather than relying on a single morning snapshot. Many airlines will issue rolling schedule adjustments as the FAA updates its programs and as real world snow totals come in. Enroll in app notifications, but also refresh the flight status page periodically, since text alerts often lag internal updates by several minutes. If you are traveling with checked baggage, medications, or time critical commitments on arrival, treat any itinerary with a Chicago or Minneapolis leg as high risk and line up a plan B.

On the ground, the same storm is making highways slick across Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with state transportation teams warning of whiteout conditions in heavier squalls. Give yourself significantly more time than usual to reach the airport, and consider shifting to earlier trains or airport shuttles where they are available, since later runs may be delayed or canceled outright as conditions worsen. If you are connecting by rail in the region, especially on longer distance services, assume slower running and possible service curtailments and avoid planning tight rail to air connections.

Even if your route avoids the Midwest entirely, today is not a day to cut it fine. Heavy traffic into Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexico combines with Snowbird traffic management and residual strain from global fleet issues to leave less margin in the system. A two hour domestic connection and a three hour international connection are safer targets than the minimums shown in booking engines, particularly for trips that rely on a single daily long haul departure.