US airlines begin restoring flights as weather warms Flights resuming ... An ice crew sprays de-icing solution on a Southwest Airlines plane in Boston, Massachusetts. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are scrapping fewer trips as warmer weather lets them restore schedules after winter storms erased more than 11,000 US flights in four days and marooned millions of fliers. Cancellations for the day totalled 584 at 7.10am New York time, according to industry data tracker FlightAware.com, a sign that airlines expect better conditions. Yesterday's tally in the US fell to 2692, down from 4110 on Monday, FlightAware reported. "Decent weather and temperatures not as cold" as yesterday will help Atlanta-based Delta resume normal operations, said Morgan Durrant, a spokesman. With only four cancelled flights early today, Delta's rate was running at less than 1 per cent, a pace that would be typical of a day without any weather disruptions at the third-largest US airline. Cancellations at American Airlines and United, the two biggest US carriers, were 1 per cent of today's timetable, FlightAware reported. Delta scrubbed 890 flights yesterday, up from 397 on Monday, with all but 40 of those involving regional partner airlines, Durrant said. Cold weather affecting regional flights at Delta's Detroit hub and cities feeding flights into Detroit caused the skipped flights. JetBlue Airways resumed service yesterday in the New York area and Boston after a 17-hour suspension to reposition planes and crews. Lost luggage After record-low temperatures in much of the country over the past several days, the National Weather Service predicted the climate to begin moderating today. Even as passengers start to make their way home, their luggage may lag behind. A video posted to the photo-sharing site Instagram showed scores of bags jamming carousels at Chicago's Midway International Airport, where 46 per cent of flights were delayed or cancelled yesterday, according to FlightAware.com. "There's definitely quite a backlog," Brad Hawkins, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines, the biggest carrier at Midway, said in a telephone interview. We're working through that as we are with all the people whose flights have been cancelled. It's definitely still a pain point for us and our employees. Stranded travellers JetBlue added 25 extra flights yesterday to fetch travellers stranded as far away as South America after its shutdown at New York's Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, New Jersey's Newark Liberty and Boston Logan. About 150,000 customers were affected when JetBlue cancelled 1800 flights from January 2 through yesterday, Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster said on a conference call. Some passengers had multiple flights grounded. The additional flights were targeted at airports with the most marooned travellers, Anders Lindstrom, a spokesman, said in an interview. JetBlue's shutdown in the Northeast began at 5 pm New York time on Monday and lifted at 10am yesterday. Compensation for idled JetBlue passengers may include travel vouchers, extra awards in the carrier's loyalty program or financial reimbursement, with decisions made on a case-by- case basis, Lindstrom said. He said JetBlue expects to have all travellers "at their final destination in the next few days." Amtrak, the government-owned passenger railroad, said it will operate a partial schedule today on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston because of the cold. The weather has caused problems with overhead wires that deliver electricity to locomotives. Acela, the fastest train Amtrak operates, will continue running less frequently in the region. The Empire Service between New York City and points west of Albany, New York, and the Keystone Service between New York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, also may have schedule changes, the Washington- based railroad said in an emailed statement.