Columbia Regional Airport flight delayed to start busy Thanksgiving travel day

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Regional Airport saw a flight delayed Wednesday morning as the busy Thanksgiving travel period kicked into high gear.

The website FlightAware reported about 50 flights canceled within, into or out of the U.S. late Wednesday morning. Nearly 1,700 flights had been delayed, according to the website.

A flight scheduled to leave Columbia at 6:47 a.m. to Chicago O'Hare was rescheduled to leave after 1:17 p.m. what COU says were mechanical issues with an aircraft. The airline brought in a replacement aircraft.

This comes after ABC 7 in Chicago reported that there has been an increase in non-weather flight delays with planes at the O'Hare airport since 2019.

And since August 2023 American Airlines has had 15% of its flights delayed due to non-weather issues.

With 2.7 million people expected to board flights Wednesday alone, there is a potential for non-weather and weather delays. Snowy weather is expected to fall in the Northeast, which could affect travel during one of the busiest travel days of the year.

The National Weather Service was predicting accumulating snow in northern New England on Wednesday, including up to 8 inches in northern Maine. Snow was also expected to hit the northern Rocky Mountains on Thanksgiving Day, bringing up to 1 foot of snow to parts of Wyoming by Friday.

The Missouri Department of Transportation warned that wet snow could fall overnight Saturday into Sunday, though accumulation isn't likely.

In a press conference on Monday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the government has hired more air traffic controllers, opened new air routes throughout the East Coast and grants for snowplows and deicing equipment to help prepare for holiday travel.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.