A powerful winter storm that swept across the US and Canada over the weekend forced thousands of flight cancellations, including several services operated by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), testing the resilience of its long-haul network and its preparedness for seasonal shocks.
Winter weather disruptions are a familiar hazard for airlines operating across North America and Northeast Asia, where snow, ice, and high winds can quickly erode schedule reliability and aircraft utilization.
The exposure is structural for PAL. Its long-haul routes funnel through weather-sensitive gateways such as the New York area, West Coast airports, and key Japanese and Korean hubs—critical arteries for both passenger and cargo flows into Manila.
Among the affected flights, PAL canceled PR126 (Manila–New York JFK) on January 24 and PR127 (JFK–Manila) on January 25. PR118 (Manila–Toronto) departed with a four-hour delay on Sunday, while PR119 (Toronto–Manila) on January 26 operated despite severe winter conditions.
These disruptions illustrate how storms thousands of kilometers from the Philippines can still squeeze premium cabin yields, strand flight crews, and complicate aircraft rotations that may take days to unwind.
Weather-related flight disruptions are a massive drag on the global airline industry. Operational disruptions due to extreme weather events are estimated to cost carriers around USD60 billion annually worldwide, roughly 8 percent of airline revenues, driven by cancellations, delays, and the extra fuel, crew, and maintenance costs they trigger.
PAL emphasized that safety remained paramount.
“Philippine Airlines’ priority is always the safety of our passengers and crew. Flights are only operated when conditions meet strict safety and operational standards,” said Bud Britanico, PAL vice president for Corporate Affairs.
He added that the airline closely monitors weather developments, coordinates with airport and ground partners, and issues early advisories to passengers when disruptions are likely.
The episode underscores a familiar trade-off for long-haul carriers: network breadth versus weather risk. As PAL rebuilds capacity and targets higher-yield traffic, its ability to absorb winter shocks—through flexible scheduling, spare crews, and clear communication—will remain a quiet but critical differentiator in protecting revenues and brand trust during peak disruption seasons.
