Popular Gulf airline Qatar Airways has added a second daily non-stop flight between John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York City and Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha.

The new daily QR Flight 704 leaves JFK airport in NYC from Terminal 7 at 11:15 hrs and lands at Hamad International Airport in Doha at 06:45 hrs local time (Qatar).

On the return trip, QR Flight 703 will arrive in JFK’s Terminal 7 at 09:15 hrs, providing convenient access to the city and connecting flights across the U.S.

Qatar Airways is using the A350 plane for the new Doha-NYC-Doha flights.

Doha-NYC-Doha Flight Details

QR Flight 701 Doha – New York 08:15 15:15 Terminal 8 Boeing 777-300ER
QR Flight 702 New York – Doha 22:00 17:35 +1 Terminal 8 Boeing 777-300ER
QR Flight 703 Doha – New York 02:25 09:15Terminal 7 Airbus A350-900
QR Flight 704 New York – Doha 11:15 06:45 +1 Terminal 7 Airbus A350-900

Besides New York, Qatar Airways currently operates flights to Philadelphia and Boston.

Qatar Airways will start flights from Atlanta on June 1, 2016.

A heavy snow storm blanketed vast stretches of the East Coast and led to cancellation of hundreds of domestic and international flights.

The storm caused 4,863 flights to be cancelled on Saturday alone, according to flights tracking service Flight Aware.

Another 865 flights were delayed Saturday.

India Flights Affected

Air India has already cancelled two flights to the U.S.

Air India’s Flight 101 DELHI-JFK and Flight 191 BOMBAY-NEWARK LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL (Newark, NJ) for January 23, 2016 have been cancelled due to bad weather in New York and New Jersey respectively.

Emirates Airline said in a twitter alert that flights to JFK and Dulles International Airport are badly impacted.

Passengers flying to and from India to the United States should call their airline before heading to the airport.

The worst hit airports Saturday are JFK (New York City), Newark Liberty International (NJ), LaGuardia (New York City), Philadelphia International Airport, Reagan National Airport (Washington DC), Baltimore-Washington International, Dulles International Airport (Washington DC/Virginia) and Raleigh-Durham International (NC).

Travelers should expect more flight cancelations and delays since the region will see snow till 2AM Sunday morning.

Wind gusts of 20 MPH-50 MPH are causing whiteout conditions throughout the region.

NYC Airports

All three major NYC area airports are badly hit by the storm.

A travel ban has been declared for New York City effective 2:30PM Saturday restricting travel on all roads only to emergency personnel and snowplows.

At JFK airport in New York City, 77% of flights were cancelled Saturday.

Things were worse in Newark Liberty-International (at Newark, NJ) and LaGuardia where 83% and 90% of flights were cancelled respectively.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia International Airport cancelled all flights Saturday and the local transit system SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) suspended most rail, trolley and bus service in the region

Delaware

Indian bound desis in New Castle and Kent Counties heading to Philadelphia, BWI or Newark Liberty International will find it hard to get to the airport because of the Level 2 Driving ban.

Delaware governor Jack Markell declared a Level 2 driving ban in New Castle and Kent Counties Saturday morning meaning all non-essential drivers must by law stay off the road.

A Level 2 ban makes it easier for emergency services and snowplows to operate unimpeded by other driving struggling over slippery roads.

Washington DC

The outlook for travelers was grim in the nation’s capital Saturday.

At Reagan National Airport (Washington DC), 70% of the flights were cancelled.

The situation was worse at Baltimore-Washington International airport where 90% of flights were cancelled.

At Dulles International Airport (Washington DC/Virginia), 78% of flights had to be cancelled because of snow build on the tarmac.

Flights into and out of the South Indian city of Chennai continue to be severely affected because of the heavy rains.

With the airport tarmac still remaining under water, the Airport Authority of India has ordered the Chennai International Airport to remain closed till December 6, 2015.

Chennai airport has been closed since December 1.

Indian-Americans with tickets to Chennai should contact their travel agent or airlines to reroute their tickets to neighboring cities like Bengaluru or Hyderabad.

Several hundred passengers have been stranded at the Chennai airport and local authorities are trying to evacuate them by buses.

But since the roads leading out of the airport have been damaged by the heavy rains, the evacuation of passengers is proving difficult.

Several international airlines including Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air India, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates offer services to Chennai.