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NEW YORK (AP) - It's been a rough start of the year for fliers.
A series of winter storms have led airlines to cancel more than 33,000 flights during the first three weeks of this year. That's more cancellations than in January 2013 and January 2012 combined, according to masFlight, a data and software company specializing in airline operations.
John DiScala, who runs the travel advice site JohnnyJet.com, says vacant seats are so scarce that when a flight is canceled passengers have a hard time quickly getting on another flight.
Many stranded passengers have had to wait days _ and in a few extreme case up to a week _ to get a seat on a flight out.
The hardest hit cities so far this winter: New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.
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