Weather still strands travelers

CHICAGO – With airports across the country recovering from a blast of snow and ice storms, some unlucky holiday travelers stranded for the second night in a row prepared to wake up this morning at the nation’s second busiest airport.

About 100 flights were canceled early Wednesday, but as the day progressed and the weather improved, the cancellations dropped off and delays shortened to between 30 and 45 minutes.

City of Chicago Aviation Department spokesman Greg Cunningham said airlines at O’Hare requested 75 cots for passengers Wednesday night.

Airports across the country recovered from a barrage of snow and ice storms Wednesday, with some conditions improving, but highways remained dangerously slippery in some areas.

At least 29 people were killed in crashes on rain- and ice-slickened roads across the nation’s midsection Tuesday and Wednesday.

The New York metro area’s Newark airport was experiencing delays of more than four hours, and Kennedy was seeing delays of three hours, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

“The airlines are dealing with nothing but unhappy customers,” said Mike Conway, spokesman for Detroit’s Metropolitan Airport, where delays were reported because of conditions elsewhere in the country.