BWI opens a second runway

Baltimore Washington International Airport opened a second runway this morning. An airport spokesman advised travelers to call ahead or check online to make sure their flights are scheduled to depart as planned.

BWI has four runways, but the two now open account for 98 percent of airline traffic, said Jonathan Dean, a BWI spokesman.

Still, Dean said, problems at other airports and scheduling kinks from Saturday's cancellations might cause additional delays and cancellations.

Dean said at least two flights have arrived safely since the runways re-opened. A charter flight for the Chicago Bears arrived just before 11 p.m. Saturday night, and a United Airlines redeye flight from Los Angeles arrived Sunday morning.

Web sites for the local airports may be difficult to load due to the heavy volume of people trying to find out the same information. You can try checking the Dulles and Reagan National airport sites. The BWI link is here.