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Why do airlines take so much time to return to normal after snowstorms?

The country's major airlines are resuming limited service to airports in the Northeast following a crippling snow storm
Why it takes so long to restore air travel after storms 02:00

By Wednesday the airlines will have cancelled more than 8,100 flights. Now, after tearing their schedules apart, they're trying to put them back together.

In Dallas, Southwest Airlines is carefully orchestrating a return to normal.

Its headquarters is more than 1,000 miles from the storm, but in a way, as close to the action as you can get.

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Airlines must consider several factors as they bring planes, crews and personnel back online after a major snowstorm. CBS News

"Sometimes we are the ultimate traffic cop," said Matt Hafner, vice-president of the airline's network operations control. "When you're talking about two feet of snow, you can be the very best, and it does take time to dig out of something like that."

Southwest's decisions resulted in about 500 cancellations. So why does it take so long to get back online?

Blizzard 2015: Breaking down the costs 03:09

Hafner and his colleagues from the other airlines move planes out of the affected areas ahead of time. Some JetBlue planes, for example, have been idling in Fort Lauderdale until they can return to the Northeast. Adding to delays, pilots and flight crews are also moved out of the path of the storm. Strict rest rules can make it difficult to reposition crews in time for newly-scheduled flights.

"So we go through a check to ensure that everybody can be prepared from our crew, from our maintenance, our airplanes are in place, our employees are accounted for in the airports," said Hafner.

The maneuvering impacts passengers from coast to coast.

"It is difficult knowing that you might have to sleep on a chair, on the floor, and I just can't handle that," said Audrey Stroud, who was in Los Angeles waiting for a flight to Virginia.

It will take a few days for service to return to normal. This has been a difficult stretch for the airline industry, but nothing compared to last year when there were 49,000 cancellations in January.

And what does this cost the economy?

According to the U.S. Travel Association, it has cost the economy $230 million in lost passenger activity.

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