A flight from Delta Air Lines made an emergency landing over Florida last Sunday when the aircraft experienced an engine failure. Authorities said the plane landed with no injuries to the passengers or crew on board.

The Delta Flight 1846 was a Boeing 737-800. It had 119 passengers, with six crews on board. According to Anthony Black, the Delta spokesman, the plane was bound for Minneapolis. It had an engine failure soon after it took off from the city of Fort Lauderdale at around 7:30 in the morning, local time.

Black said the captain received a warning indicating possible damage to one of its engines while they were taking off. The captain shut down the engine as a precautionary measure and decided to go back to the airport.

In the Fort Lauderdale airport, the plane landed safely and without any incident. The passengers were brought back to the gate while the plane was examined by fire rescue and aircraft officials, said spokesman Allan Siegel from Florida Aviation Department.

Siegel added that representatives from the Broward Country Sheriff’s Office then found several pieces of what seems to be parts of the ruined engine from a particular area around the airport.

The passengers were subsequently transferred to another Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Black said the flight was en route to Minneapolis. However, the replacement craft was not part of the flights going in and out of St. Paul International Airport that were canceled because of immense winter weather in Minneapolis on Sunday.

A relentless winter storm was hammering across the upper Midwest, leaving up to 15 inches of snow on Sunday. Areas from Dakotas all the way to Minnesota, including Wisconsin were declared white-out conditions.

State officials advised not to travel in South Dakota where most roads were not yet closed. The  majority of roads in southern Minnesota were already covered in snow. Drivers have limited visibility and airlines canceled many flights.

Travel will be difficult because of the snow and ice in southern Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters even anticipated several inches of snow to cover southern Wisconsin along with some chilly rain that could accumulate ice in some places.

The Weather Bureau expected the storm to leave up to 15 inches of snow from Sunday to midway Monday in Minnesota. Previous weather forecasts even expected the snow to accumulate up to 18 inches in some areas of Minnesota.

The National Weather Service  said blizzard conditions were already developing in south and west of Minneapolis. New Ulm and Lester Prairie were having nearly 8 inches of snow. Meteorologist Tony Zaleski said the snow is blowing around 20 to 30 miles per hour.

Airline operations were reduced because of the high winds brought by the storm. The majority of the flights were canceled at St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. Delta Air Lines also canceled hundreds of its flights on Sunday.

From December until the most recent storm, the total snowfall in the Twin Cities had already reached more than 61 inches. In fact, it is the fifth snowiest season on the record based on the statistics of National Weather Service. Additional 10 inches of snow would bring it to the second snowiest winter on record following the 76.9 inches of snow in 1981-82.

People looking for cheap airfares to travel this summer might need a bit of luck to find them. Currently, airlines are holding back their great deals and discounts durring most summer travel periods. However, they are already giving out astounding bargains for both international and domestic flights this spring.

Delta Air Lines offered the lowest cost for round trip tickets to some European cities last Tuesday. Taxes where even included in the $138 airfare. Within a few hours, the offer was gone. This led some experts to say it was an error in pricing.

Lufthansa also mistakenly priced its flights without fuel surcharges, according to George Hobica, the founder of airfarewatchdog.com, which is a travel advice website. Again, the low-priced fares did not last long.

Although some seat sales for spring flights are unexpected and difficult to find, most of them are rather easy to spot. Discounts for flight fares often occur from Tuesday until Thursday. In fact, Southwest Airlines and other airlines offered a $138 round trip flight to many U.S. destinations.

According to Tom Parsons from the travel website, BestFares.com, airlines usually promote a lot of sales. However, the discounts right now are limited to travel flights before the month of May. He said travelers should find an airline that will extend a sale into summer, and when they do, their credit cards should be ready.

The CEO of FareCompare.com, Rick Seaney said round trip fares are expected to increase to $250 since airlines are not yet giving discounts for summer trips. He said airlines usually give bargains three months before the start of summer vacation to measure the demand on travel.

Last summer, air fares rose as travel demand increased. Airlines strictly controlled the number of seats and flights. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that more people will be travelling this year than last year.