Planes are de-iced at La Guardia Airport during a winter storm on February 2, 2015 in the Queens borough of New York City. The snowstorm, which is effecting an area stretching from New York to Chicago, is disrupting travelers both on the road and in the air.

A winter storm bringing a mix of snow, sleet and heavy rain from the Midwest to the East Coast grounded more than 2,000 flights and created hourslong delays at some of the busiest airports in the Northeast on Tuesday.

New York's LaGuardia Airport was the most affected with 500 flights scheduled to fly in and out of the airport called off, or about 40 percent of the day's schedule, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. More than 800 flights were canceled at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, Chicago's O'Hare and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The weather delayed flights at Newark Liberty International Airport and at Boston Logan International Airport by more than three hours and a ground stop was put in place for J.F.K., a measure that would prevent flights from departing for the New York airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

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American Airlines said it would waive fees to change dates tickets to or from 32 airports across the Northeast and in southern Canada if customers can fly a different date through Saturday. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways issued similar waivers. Southwest Airlines doesn't charge fees for changing travel dates but said it would waive fare-difference charges for travelers affected by the storm.

Tuesday's flight disruptions come after a snowstorm canceled hundreds of flights in Seattle during the weekend.

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