Dubai: Emirates cancelled eight Washington DC and New York flights on Saturday after a massive blizzard and strong winds brought US east coast cities to a standstill.

The cancelled flights are EK 203 Dubai to New York JFK, EK 204 New York JFK to Dubai, EK 201 Dubai to New York JFK, EK 202 New York JFK to Dubai, EK 205 Milan, Italy to New York JFK, EK 206 New York JFK to Milan, EK 231 Dubai to Washington DC and EK 232 Washington DC to Dubai, according to an emailed statement sent to Gulf News.

The airline has also delayed the 11:00am January 23 EK 207 Dubai to New York service until 2:00am on January 24. The return EK 208 New York JFK to Dubai scheduled to depart at 9:35pm on January 23 has been delayed until 6:40pm the next day on January 24.

Dubbed winter storm Jonas, the blizzard is expected to dump one of the largest snowfalls on the east coast United States in modern history. On Friday, Etihad Airways cancelled Saturday's services to Washington DC and New York JFK in anticipation of the storm. It has warned passengers travelling to these cities over the weekend may face delays. Qatar Airways has issued similar warnings with a spokesperson telling Gulf News Friday some flights may be affected by the storm.