Friday Flights at LAX Cancelled as Winter Snow Storm Begins to Settle

The impacted flights includes travel to and from Chicago O’Hare and Midway, New York JFK, Newark, Philadelphia, and Boston.

Nearly 50 flights were cancelled by Friday night at LAX impacting more than 7,000 passengers due to powerful storms on the East Coast, officials said.

READ: 20 Inches of Snow, Bitter Clod Slams Northeast

Some of those affected were Michigan State fans trying to get home following the football team's Rose Bowl win over Stanford on New Year's Day.

"Last night the flight was still on and I checked, but this morning they cancelled it," said Michigan resident Larry Hebert. "I'm trying to get a hotel."

Hebert was far from the only Michigan State fan at the airport, and several people on Twitter noticed the crowds of travelers dressed in the school's green-and-white colors:

The cancellations followed dozens of flights impacted on Thursday.

READ: Snowstorm Poses First Test for New Mayors

LAX officials said 41 departing and arriving flights were cancelled -- an estimated 5,535 passengers -- between 6 a.m. to midnight related to so-called Storm System Hercules.

The delays took place during the final -- and one of the busiest -- days of the 14-day holiday travel period, said Nancy Castles, an LAX spokeswoman.

NBC4 counted 52 arriving flights and four departing flights had been cancelled due to the bad weather between midnight and 2 p.m. Friday, according to Flightstats.com.

The impacted airports include Chicago O’Hare and Midway, New York's JFK, Newark, Philadelphia, and Boston. Most other flights at these airports experienced delays between 30 minutes and 3 hours.

New York's JFK Airport was closed early Friday morning, but reopened at 10 a.m. EST.

The governors of New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies ahead of expected heavy snows. Parts of Massachusetts had been hit with nearly 20 inches of snow by Friday morning.

LAX officials have advised passengers to check with their airline before heading to the airport.

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