Hurricane Sandy halts flights in and out of Sea-Tac

Hurricane Sandy’s impact is stretching all the way to Sea-Tac Airport, where flights to and from the nation’s busiest airports are canceled.

>>>Photo Gallery: Sandy slams East Coast

According to the flight-tracking service FlightAware, nearly 7,500 flights had been canceled for Monday and Tuesday, almost all related to the storm.

Alaska Airlines canceled flights to Newark, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. US Airways canceled two morning flights to Philadelphia from the Puget Sound area, and American Airlines canceled a single flight to New York’s JFK Airport. JetBlue Airways canceled flights later today to New York and Boston, while United Airlines canceled Sea-Tac flights to Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Newark.

Alaska and the others are waiving the normal change fees for passengers forced to delay their flights.

>>>Check Alaska’s travel advisory here

At Sea-Tac Airport, lines are surprisingly short with most travelers simply staying away, according to KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan.

“There are very few people arriving here at Sea-Tac unaware that their flights have been canceled,” Sullivan says.

Sullivan reports airlines estimate it could take days after the hurricane for some travelers to catch flights and service to return to normal because of all the cancellations.

>>>A state-by-state look at Hurricane Sandy’s impact