Travel Chaos – Cancellations and Delays Up

Since restrictions on travel have lessened, airports and flights have been swarmed with people who have avoided travel during the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But airlines have been having difficulty keeping up with the surge in travelers.
 
Last Father’s Day weekend, more than 3,200 flights were canceled across the US and about 9,000 flights were delayed, according to FlightAware.
 
Notably, last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged the CEOs of major airlines to improve their flight schedules and improve performance. 
 
“That is happening to a lot of people, and that is exactly why we are paying close attention here to what can be done and how to make sure that the airlines are delivering,” Buttigieg said.
 
The airlines say that they are struggling with issues including bad weather, staff shortages and infrastructure problems. 
 

On Sunday alone, 921 flights departing and arriving in the US were canceled, and over 6,000 US flights were delayed. 

Delta Airlines canceled 8% of its schedule on Sunday – 249 flights. American Airlines canceled 96 and United Airlines canceled 92. 

“A variety of factors continue to impact our operations, including challenges with air traffic control, weather and unscheduled absences in some work groups,” Delta said in a statement. 

“Canceling a flight is always our last resort, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience to their travel plans.”

Data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shows that more than 2.4 million people went through TSA checkpoints at airports in the US on Friday, the record high for the year. 

On Saturday, more than 6,400 flights were delayed and 860 were canceled.

The chaos didn’t end on Monday morning, with 297 flights canceled before 10:35 AM (EST). More than 1,000 planned US flights were delayed as well. 

Similar chaos at airports and in the skies occurred on Memorial Day weekend. 

The airlines say they have a shortage of pilots and other staff, resulting from layoffs and resignations during the pandemic. The price of fuel is also a contributing factor to flight cancellations. 

For travelers, the situation is frustrating and burdensome. Thousands of passengers were left stranded at airports in the US with many forced to sleep in the airport. Other travelers were forced to search for hotel rooms.

 

 

━ latest articles

━ explore more

━ more articles like this