Blizzard

East Coast Digs Out

But flights will take days to rebook.

Though the snow has stopped and New York’s airports were open by Monday night, grief caused by the blizzard that swept the East Coast may take days to go away. Because airlines book flights as full as possible, it may take days for airlines to find seats for delayed fliers, who are stuck in airports around the country. US Airways is shooting for three days, JetBlue for five. In New York City, which took the brunt of the storm, buses and subways are expected to be “better, but not perfect,” according to the chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. One hundred ambulances got stuck in the snow, and the Fire Department has a backlog of 1,300 emergency calls. Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to put things in perspective: “The world has not come to an end,” he said. “The city is going fine.”