DC snowstorm causes chaos at airports with hundreds of cancelations, delays

WASHINGTON - Delays and cancelations are creating chaos for travelers going through Dulles International and Reagan National airports. 

The airports are dealing with their first significant storm in years and that’s meant a lot of headaches for passengers both Monday and Tuesday.  

Right now, Regan says it has two runways open with bare pavement on each. According to flightaware.com, the airport had more than 140 cancelations and over 160 delays by Tuesday afternoon. 

But it’s not only the headache people are putting up with. 

Airlines are still trying to play catch up after snow forced a brief ground stop Monday, causing additional delays for passengers who were getting off of planes that had already landed. 

Social media was loaded with posts from passengers who said their plane had landed at the airports, but in some cases, the airlines were taking an hour to an hour and a half to get the plane to the gate. Many passengers are still trying to re-book.

"Southwest canceled our flight, so we had to call our office and have them rebook us on American," one traveler told FOX 5. 

"We were going to go to El Paso, Texas but they canceled yesterday so we’ve decided to stay one more day over here," said another.

There’s a passenger’s Bill of Rights that’s supposed to protect flyers, but according to the Department of Transportation, airlines are not required to compensate passengers whose domestic flights are delayed or canceled.

RELATED: Flight from DC stuck on tarmac at Nashville International Airport for hours

If your flight is canceled, most airlines will re-book you on their first flight to your destination if space is available at no additional charge. When it comes to delays, however, each airline has its own policies and there are no federal requirements about how they have to help or compensate guests. 

FOX 5 reached out to two big airlines that fly out of both D.C.-area airports – Southwest and American – about how long is it going to take to reset these schedules and get people where they’re going. 

Southwest once again topped the list of most-affected airlines with nearly 450 cancelations. On Monday, they had more than 700 flights canceled — about 18% of its schedule.

United came in right behind Southwest Tuesday with nearly 350 cancelations and 680 delays. 

You can check FlightAware’s Misery Map for details as you plan your travel.