Hurricane Sandy causes travel chaos in the United States - and globally

Hurricane Sandy grounded thousands of flights in the US northeast yesterday and upended travel plans across the globe, stranding passengers from Hong Kong to Europe.

The huge storm, which forecasters said could be the largest to hit the US mainland in American history, threatens to bring a near halt to air travel for at least two days in a key region for domestic and international flights.

Nine US states declared a state of emergency. With the US election eight days away, President Barack Obama cancelled a campaign event in Florida yesterday in order to return to Washington and monitor the US government's response to the storm.

"Everybody is aware that this is going to be a big and powerful storm," Obama said, adding "it could potentially have fatal consequences".

Delays rippled across the US, affecting travellers in cities such as San Francisco to Chicago, and disruptions spread to Asia and Europe, where airlines cancelled or delayed flights to New York and Washington from big travel hubs, including Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and Paris.

Cathay Pacific cancelled its two daily flights to New York for yesterday and today, leaving travellers such as businessman Alan Shrem, who was trying to return home to Florida after attending trade fairs in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, facing long waits for a new flight.