Severe winter weather grounds more than 1,000 flights

Scott Olson | Getty Images

Workers deice a Southwest Airline aircraft at Midway Airport on January 22, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.

Severe winter weather is snarling air travel from the upper midwestern U.S. to Georgia this week.

Airlines have called off more than 1,000 flights scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday amid snow, heavy rain and other severe weather, according to flight-tracking site Flightaware.com.

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Close to 500 flights scheduled to depart or fly into Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway Airport on Tuesday were canceled and nearly 300 others in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines’ main hub and the world’s busiest airport.

Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways said they would waive date-change fees for travelers affected by the severe weather.

A broad swath of the northern U.S. is bracing for a blast of record cold air.

Delta, which operates hubs in Minneapolis and Detroit, is preparing for the bitter temperatures by increasing staffing of ground workers who load bags and service aircraft so more employees will have time to go inside, as well as moving some aircraft into heated hangars overnight, said spokesman Michael Thomas.