New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- A powerful winter storm across the southern United States disrupted travel on Sunday (February 1), hitting Charlotte Douglas International Airport - a key hub for American Airlines - particularly hard after one of the city's heaviest snowfalls in years.

Nearly a foot of snow blanketed Charlotte over the weekend, triggering widespread flight cancellations and delays as airlines and airport crews struggled to restore normal operations amid freezing temperatures.

On January 31, a total of 2,469 flights within, into or out of the United States were cancelled, according to FlightAware. American Airlines accounted for 581 of those cancellations, reflecting the scale of disruption at its Charlotte hub.

Charlotte Douglas I...