Read more: New York Winter storm ruins an Irish vacation

Thousands of passengers flying to Ireland after Christmas have had their trips canceled after a massive storm closed all the three major New York city area airports.

Aer Lingus flights to Ireland were canceled for the second straight night after gale force winds continued to pummel the New York area in the wake of the storm, leading to huge snowdrifts which kept airports shut down for most of the day Monday.

Only limited traffic was allowed later with JFK Airprot allowing only outgoing flights.

The Aer Lingus flight 105 rom Dubln to the U.S. was forced to divert to Boston where crew and passengers were to be accomadated  overnight.

Other flights from Ireland cancelled because of weather included Delta to New York and Continental Airlines to Newark Airport.

The post-Christmas cancellations because of the New York storm led to further disruption as dire conditions in Ireland had led to several cancellations in the pre -Christmas period.

Further disruption is expected through to new year’s as many of the displaced passengers seek to gain seats in already fully booked existing flights.

Read more: New York Winter storm ruins an Irish vacation