>
Travel is going to be an absolute nightmare in many places at one of the busiest travel times of the year. Be patient everyone! >

Traveling was a nightmare last year...still didn't get a refund after I was left stranded and had to find an alternative way home >

My guess is that it has more to do with the intense cold. If its -20° on the ground imagine what it is at 35,000 feet. Then you gotta factor in the wind chill too. When i woke up this morning it was -26° but with the wind chill it felt like -52°. Thats cold! >

Temperatures at 35,000 feet are always around -50C or lower, the ground is too far away to heat the atmosphere at that point. The main issue is closer to the ground, where planes are taking off and landing on the limits of their flight envelope. Massive changes of temperature at the lower altitudes change the air density and how flight behaves. If those conditions change rapidly during a take off or landing the pilots are in for a bad time to control the plane's attitude.