Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights through Monday as a result of Hurricane Sandy, with the brunt of cancellations affecting airports along the East Coast.
The highest number of cancellations occurred at Newark, second was Washington Dulles and third was Philadelphia. More cancellations are expected as the storm comes ashore.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said that all airlines will stop flights tonight into and out of all five of the New York-area airports it operates.
Airlines were waiving change penalties for travelers to much of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast between Oct. 28 and Oct. 31. Most airlines were requiring travelers to rebook their flights by Nov. 4 and some were requiring travelers to begin their rebooked travel by Nov. 4. United was giving travelers who opted to change their travels up to a year to use the tickets.
Because New York subways and commuter rail service will shut down at 7 p.m., the JFK AirTrain will cease operation at that point.
Cruise ports from Boston to Baltimore also shut down.
Amtrak canceled a number of trains in the Boston-Washington corridor through early Tuesday.
Hotels in the mandatory-evacuation zone in lower Manhattan were accommodating guests in midtown properties where and when available.
The Ritz-Carlton Battery Park said guests would be transferred to its property in Central Park "as long as space is available," according to a spokesman. The New York Marriott Downtown was following the same policy.
The death toll from the monstrous storm has topped 55 in the Caribbean, with many of them occurring in Haiti.
The southern portion of Haiti suffered major flooding and mudslides and is a "disaster area," according to a statement from emergency officials.
Follow Gay Nagle Myers on Twitter @gnmtraveleekly.