Travelers across the country are facing days of grief ahead as thousands of flights get canceled because of Hurricane Irene.

Airlines are scrapping more than 9,000 flights this weekend from North Carolina to Boston, grounding passengers as Irene sweeps up the East Coast. There were more than 3,600 cancellations on Saturday alone.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials have closed the five New York-area airports to arriving passenger flights.

Many weekend departures were already canceled in anticipation of the storm.

The suspension applies to John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports for both domestic and international flights.

The biggest airlines, United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., canceled thousands of flights each. United Continental, the world’s largest airline, suspended operations altogether in the New York area.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport were both open Saturday afternoon, but most flights had been canceled.

Airlines declined to say how many passengers would be affected by the hurricane, but the numbers will likely reach into the millions. That’s because so many flights, both domestic and international, make connections through major East Coast hub airports. Even passengers not flying anywhere near the East coast could be delayed for days as airlines work to get planes and crews back into position.

(Source: WCBSTV)