Southwest Airlines planes at Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2026.

In this week’s air travel developments, Sacramento International Airport’s latest passenger numbers show that thousands of local travelers are no longer driving to Bay Area airports as SMF adds more flights and routes; last weekend’s winter storm, unofficially named Fern, was a disaster for air travel with one of the highest flight cancellation rates ever, although West Coast airports were largely spared; a top federal air safety official issued a dire warning about Hollywood Burbank Airport; Delta Air Lines returns to Airbus for its latest wide-body aircraft order; Oakland loses a low-cost carrier route while LAX gains one; a large European budget airline applies for rights to fly to the U.S.; American Airlines makes award travel bookings easier on Aer Lingus, and JetBlue Airways ends its loyalty tie-in with JSX; and San Jose Mineta International Airport debuts Touchless ID for PreCheck members.

By adding more routes and flights, fast-growing Sacramento International Airport is gaining thousands more local passengers who previously made the long drive to one of the Bay Area’s airports. That’s the conclusion of airport officials in their year-end report on 2025, when SMF handled a record 13.9 million passengers, up 2% over the previous year. “Passenger growth was supported by expanded airline service, increased seat capacity, and the addition of six new nonstop routes, including transcontinental service and expanded international connectivity to Mexico,” the airport said in a statement Monday. “In 2025, SMF also retained 12 percent more travelers who chose Bay Area airports in the past, which totals more than 400,000 travelers who previously drove long distances for air service.”

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New destinations added from SMF last year include Anchorage, Baltimore/Washington, Orlando and Tucson, as well as Puerto Vallarta and Morelia, Mexico. The airport has recorded year-over-year passenger gains for 23 consecutive months, officials said, and SMF now offers nonstop flights to 52 destinations.

A powerful winter storm brought daily life to a standstill at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 25, 2026.

Weather reports this week suggest that a new winter storm might hit the northeast this weekend, and if it’s anything like last weekend’s, it could bring another disaster for air travel.

Last weekend’s winter storm, unofficially named Fern by the Weather Channel, hit a broad swath of the country from the Southwest to the Northeast with snow, ice and freezing rain, and it resulted in the biggest impact on air travel since the early COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. From Friday, Jan. 23, through Monday, Jan. 26, almost 20,000 U.S. flights were canceled, according to FlightAware data. The worst day was Sunday, Jan. 25, when about 45% of all scheduled flights........

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