KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (1/16): McGhee Tyson Airport said flights are now scheduled to slowly resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday after it reopened the runway.
"Operations will start slowly and continue throughout the day," Becky Huckaby with the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority said.
Flights were originally scheduled to resume at 7 a.m. That start time was pushed back to 8 a.m. and then pushed back again to 10 a.m. The airport said this was because of icy conditions.
16 flights have been canceled so far, according to Flight Aware.
"Again, thank you for your patience and understanding. The safety of our passengers and employees remains our number one priority," McGhee Tyson said.
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All flights out of McGhee Tyson Airport are grounded until at least Tuesday morning.
According to Flight Aware, a flight tracking website, 42 flights were canceled out of the airport today and 13 are canceled for Tuesday. The airport made the call at 6:45 p.m. on Monday in a Facebook post, citing the winter storm.
"Starting at 7 p.m., we will be halting operations for the remainder of the evening due to inclement weather," McGhee Tyson said on Facebook. "Operations will resume in the early morning to prepare for tomorrow’s flights. If you're traveling and impacted by this temporary closure, you will be contacted by your airline regarding your flight status."
The post said people flying out on Jan. 16 need to keep an eye on FlyKnoxville.com and check-in with their airline.
"Thank you for your patience and understanding," the post said. "The safety of our passengers and employees remains our number one priority."
Information about the status of arriving flights can be found here. Departing flight information is available here. It's not clear when the airport will be operational again.
"We just contacted everybody. We were standing in line for two hours to try and get food And, I have three kids and then two adults we were traveling with, and we have no idea how long we're going to be here," Sarah Santiago, whose flight was canceled.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 7 a.m. Tuesday. Heavy snow accumulated throughout the day on Monday, snarling traffic and disrupting travel. Single-digit temperatures are in the forecast for Tuesday. Wind chills will make hypothermia possible.