‘Better operational day’ at Bay Area airports as flight cancellations ease

After punishing winter weather across much of the country ruined holiday flight plans in the Bay Area, delays and cancellations at the region's major airports began to ease Saturday.

After days of punishing winter weather across much of the country ruined holiday flight plans nationwide, delays and cancellations at the Bay Area’s major airports began to ease Saturday as travel slowed for Christmas Eve.

At San Francisco International Airport, 60 arriving and departing flights were canceled and 89 were delayed as of Saturday morning, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. On Friday, a total of 139 flights were canceled.

“There’s no system-wide delay programs or round stops,” said Bob Rotiski, airport duty manager. “It’s definitely a better operational day today.”

Meanwhile, Mineta San Jose International Airport had 28 cancellations, down from 88 on Friday. And Oakland International Airport listed 15 cancellations, down from 83.

Nationally, about 2,000 flights were canceled by Saturday morning after nearly 6,000 were called off the day before.

On Bay Area roadways, no major traffic jams were reported, according to SigAlert.com.

As freezing rain and frigid cold enveloped many parts of the country, knocking out power to an estimated 1.7 million households and businesses, the weather in the Bay Area was forecast to stay mild and sunny through the weekend.

But a Spare the Air alert prohibiting wood burning remained in place through Christmas as weather patterns — including a high-pressure inversion layer over the Bay Area — acted as a lid on smoke and air pollution.

Air quality index readings throughout the region surged past 100 Saturday morning, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Any reading between 101-150 means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and anything above 151 means it’s unhealthy for everyone.

Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the conditions should linger until a cold front bringing rain and wind is expected to move in and flush out the bad air by late Monday or early Tuesday.

“That’s going to be kind of like going into a decontamination shower,” Garcia said.

Forecasters anticipate the system could dump at least one to two inches of rain throughout the region and possibly as much as four inches in the coastal mountains.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.