Air travel has been abruptly interrupted on the East Coast as several airports are either grounding or significantly delaying all flights this Thursday afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported that a severe thunderstorm system causing dangerous flooding has halted flights in areas including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.

Key travel centers like LaGuardia Airport, Newark-Liberty International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport have declared ground stops that will last until at least 5pm ET.

Other major airports, including John F Kennedy International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, have announced ground delays lasting until at least early Friday morning.

The airport chaos has led to flight delays of more than three hours at New York’s JFK Airport and New Jersey’s Newark Airport.

Delays out of Washington’s Ronald Reagan Airport, however, have now reached a staggering 268 minutes, or four and a half hours.

Flights at Philadelphia and LaGuardia have been delayed by more than two hours due to the dangerous storm.

According to AccuWeather, more 43 million people are in the path of potentially deadly flash flooding Thursday.

Other airports affected by the delays in the Northeast include Westchester County and Teterboro Airports in New York, Dulles International Airport in Virginia, and Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Maryland.

According to Flight Aware, over 5,900 flights into and out of the US have been delayed and more than 1,500 have been cancelled as of 4pm on Thursday.

Meteorologists have warned that the Northeast should expect heavy downpours through Thursday night.

Flooding is expected in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, with rainfall rates reaching one to three inches per hour in many areas.

‘Life-threatening flash flooding is possible, especially around and after dark. People traveling through the region, in basement apartments and other low-lying, flood-prone areas should remain vigilant and ensure they have multiple ways to receive severe weather warnings, especially after dark,’ AccuWeather meteorologists said in a statement.

LaGuardia Airport, which has seen some of the largest number of flight cancellations Thursday, was forced to respond to criticism from frustrated flyers on social media.

‘While the weather immediately around you may seem fine, weather conditions around New York and along flight paths play a significant role in weather related delays,’ officials wrote on X.

New York and New Jersey have both declared a State of Emergency ahead of the severe thunderstorms moving along the East Coast.

‘Delayed flight, delayed baggage claim, thunderstorms and flood warnings apparently. You can’t make this up,’ one frustrated traveler wrote on X.

‘My favorite activity is sprinting for a connecting flight you thought was boarding early, only to learn at the gate that it’s delayed,’ another flyer posted.

Thursday’s major storm is expected to move south heading into the weekend, bringing even more dangerous weather to the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and the Gulf Coast.

Heavy flooding between Friday and Tuesday, August 5 is expected to severely disrupt travel, with some areas of South Carolina and Georgia seeing up to eight inches of rain this weekend.

A massive band of severe thunderstorms may continue to ground more flights from North Carolina to Louisiana starting Friday afternoon.