During the Fourth of July weekend, many flights across the US were delayed or canceled as travelers filled airports.
The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,490,490 people at the airport last Friday, the most since February 11, 2020. The passenger volume on Friday was 13% higher than on July 1 last year, the Thursday before the Fourth of July.
“That same day, 464 U.S. domestic and international flights were canceled, and more than 6,600 were delayed, according to the flight tracker FlightAware, which noted that they were 28.8% of scheduled flights overall,” a news article states. More than 2,600 flights were canceled Thursday, and American Airlines canceled 8% of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Saturday, more than 2,400 flights were canceled, and about 25,000 were delayed.
Airlines are blaming the delays and cancellations on understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration. The Federal Aviation Administration is part of the U.S. Traveling Department and hires air traffic controllers. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, disagrees with those claims. He said, “The majority of cancellations and the majority of delays have nothing to do with air traffic control staffing.”
Helane Becker, an airline analyst for the investment firm Cowen, said, “there are many reasons for the disruptions including weather, FAA ground stops that last too long, and flight crews hitting their legal limit of working hours in a day,” an article reads. She also said the airlines seem to run into difficulties when it comes to daily operations, and the FAA didn’t train enough air traffic controllers-a process that can take up to four years to complete- for the requirements.
FlightAware spokeswoman, Kathleen Bangs, said, “she expects the wave of cancellations to stabilize by the fall as airlines reduce their schedules and aim to hire more pilots and other airline workers,” Julianne McShane, a journalist for NBC, wrote.
The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,490,490 people at the airport last Friday, the most since February 11, 2020. The passenger volume on Friday was 13% higher than on July 1 last year, the Thursday before the Fourth of July.
“That same day, 464 U.S. domestic and international flights were canceled, and more than 6,600 were delayed, according to the flight tracker FlightAware, which noted that they were 28.8% of scheduled flights overall,” a news article states. More than 2,600 flights were canceled Thursday, and American Airlines canceled 8% of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Saturday, more than 2,400 flights were canceled, and about 25,000 were delayed.
Airlines are blaming the delays and cancellations on understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration. The Federal Aviation Administration is part of the U.S. Traveling Department and hires air traffic controllers. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, disagrees with those claims. He said, “The majority of cancellations and the majority of delays have nothing to do with air traffic control staffing.”
Helane Becker, an airline analyst for the investment firm Cowen, said, “there are many reasons for the disruptions including weather, FAA ground stops that last too long, and flight crews hitting their legal limit of working hours in a day,” an article reads. She also said the airlines seem to run into difficulties when it comes to daily operations, and the FAA didn’t train enough air traffic controllers-a process that can take up to four years to complete- for the requirements.
FlightAware spokeswoman, Kathleen Bangs, said, “she expects the wave of cancellations to stabilize by the fall as airlines reduce their schedules and aim to hire more pilots and other airline workers,” Julianne McShane, a journalist for NBC, wrote.
