The snowstorm preparing to wallop the Pacific Northwest is causing several airlines to cancel or delay dozens of flights into and out of Portland International Airport on Friday.

Horizon Airlines canceled 24 flights in and out of PDX because of icy conditions. Cancellations also included flights in and out of Eugene and Redmond.

“The weather has continued to evolve since Sunday with freezing rain in each of these cities,” Alaska Airlines wrote on its website regarding the Horizon Air cancellations. “Deicing of the aircraft is required whenever there’s frozen precipitation, so cancellations in these locations were made to account for the time needed for this process.”

Winter weather is projected to roll into the Portland area on Friday and extend into the weekend.

The cancellations and delays could expand into the weekend.

According to the Port of Portland’s website, United, American, Delta and Southwest Airlines were also cancelling or delaying flights as of 11:10 a.m.

Delta Airlines issued a statement saying it was instituting a “winter waiver” for six Pacific Northwest airports. “The waiver allows customers traveling to, from or through the affected cities on Feb. 8 and 9, to make a one-time change to their travel plans without incurring a fee,” the airline said in a statement.

Port of Portland officials urged travelers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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