( CNN ) First , it was the snowy weather . An American Airlines flight trying to leave Boston on Sunday night was delayed for about 2½ hours before it finally took off at 10:52 p.m . The crew of American Flight 223 knew hours before takeoff that they could n't go the distance to Los Angeles . The first officer was going to exceed his allotted work time , as dictated by the Federal Aviation Administration , if he flew the entire route , American spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said . That 's why the crew made the decision to divert to Chicago O'Hare International Airport that night and informed the passengers hours prior to takeoff , Lupica said . The passengers were told about the stop in Chicago while still in the Boston boarding area , several hours before departing , she said . They would have had time to rebook if they wanted to do so . `` Certainly , the weather had a lot to do with this decision , '' Lupica said . `` It was prudent to depart and be able to go as far as Chicago , '' especially with the snow predictions in the Boston area . Given Monday 's snowfall in the Boston area , it seems like a smart decision to get out of town . It 's not likely the flight would have taken off Monday . Boston Logan International Airport remained open , but most flights have been canceled , Massachusetts Gov . Charlie Baker said . 3 Mondays , 3 straight snowstorms bury the Northeast . Snowstorms in the Northeast have caused the cancellation and delay of thousands of flights over the past couple months . FlightAware.com showed more than 700 flights within , into and out of the United States canceled for Sunday , on top of the more than 1,500 flights scheduled to be scrubbed Monday . Flight 223 's passengers landed in Chicago just after midnight and were put up in hotels overnight . They departed Chicago with a new crew at 8:05 a.m. Monday and landed in Los Angeles at 10:11 a.m. , according to FlightAware.com . CNN 's Ed Payne contributed to this story .
Weather delayed an American flight out of Boston for more than two hours . Pilot work rules forced the flight to divert to Chicago .