Hurricane Sandy has forced nearly 10,000 flight cancellations for Monday and Tuesday as the storm is making her way towards the population-dense East Coast of the United States, according to the flight-tracking service website FlightAware.

About one-quarter of all U.S. flights travel in or out of New York airports every day. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Monday warned travelers against going to JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airport.

Major carriers such as American, United and Delta Airlines canceled all flights into and out of three airports in the New York area. Air China canceled the flight to China Monday, according to its customer service.

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, urged the public to stay at home when Sandy slams the city.

Kathleen Bergen with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Communications said that "Working with our federal partners, the FAA is continuously monitoring Hurricane Sandy, and will take steps to prepare and protect FAA facilities and equipment that are in the projected path of the storm, including control towers, radars and navigational aids."

She added that the FAA's top operational priority is to quickly re-establish air traffic service to support disaster relief efforts, saying "The FAA Air Traffic System Command Center will maintain constant communications with the airlines, the military, business aviation and airports in the storm's path."

Evacuations have been ordered from Maryland to Maine, where storm surge and high winds are expected to wipe out power to millions.

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