Snowstorm Leads To Hundreds Of Canceled Flights At Denver International Airport

DENVER (CBS4) - Nearly 500 flights in and out of Denver International Airport have been canceled so far on Tuesday as heavy snow continues to fall in the Denver metro area. At 8 a.m., four out of six runways were open and major snow clearing operations were ongoing on one of the busiest days of the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

Airport officials wrote on Twitter: "DEN crews working hard to keep runways and taxiways open. Some flights are moving this morning with many airlines resuming operations late morning or early afternoon."

Sadie Luhman, a cadet from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, drove to the airport in the middle of the night in hopes of being able to fly to Chicago on Tuesday. It took her about 3 hours to make the drive.

PHOTO GALLERY: Thanksgiving Week Snowstorm 2019

"I just wanted to beat the storm. We kind of left in the middle of it so it kind of didn't work, but we got here," she told CBS4 just before at 7:30 a.m.

More than a half a foot of snow had fallen by daybreak at DIA on Tuesday, according to an official measurement from the National Weather Service, but several more inches are expected to fall in the daylight hours. A winter storm warning continues until 2 p.m. for Denver.

DIA spokeswoman Alex Renteria said they are prepared for many who might get stranded at the airport in the midst of their Thanksgiving travel process.

"We have thousands of blankets in stock. If folks need diapers or formula or care kits we also have those at our information booths," she told CBS News.

Additional Resources

DIA recommends that travelers check their flight status before leaving for the airport.

The website FlightAware.com constantly tracks delays and flight cancellations at Denver International Airport. Get current information about DEN flights at flightaware.com.