Fifty-three flights on July 4th have been canceled, as of July 3rd morning, including those within, into, or out of the U.S.
Travelers are returning to airports in record pre-pandemic numbers this July Fourth weekend. The Transportation Security Administration posted that there were nearly 2.5 million people screened in airports nationwide on July 1. This is the highest checkpoint since Feb. 11, 2020. However, many of the flights were either canceled or delayed.
On July 1, 464 U.S. domestic and international flights were canceled and more than 6,600 were delayed, making up 28.8% of all scheduled flights. July 2 had 5,893 delays and 655 cancellations. These cancellations follow those of Juneteenth, Father’s Day weekend, and Memorial Day. An average of 3,000 flights were canceled during these holiday weekends.
The main reasons for these cancellations are staffing shortages and pilot shortages. This led some airlines to cut thousands of flights in advance for the summer. Airline executives have blamed understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration for the cancellations and delays, but the FAA disputed the blames with a statement.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press that he wanted to wait and see how air travel does over the summer to decide whether he will take action against airlines. He tweeted on Saturday that passengers can claim refunds for canceled flights. “Airlines offer miles as compensation for some travel issues, and you can often negotiate on this. That’s between you and the airline. But you are entitled to cash refunds for canceled flights — that’s a requirement that we will continue to enforce.”
FlightAware, a company that provides flight tracking data and products, said that it expects the wave of cancellations to stabilize in the fall, as airlines hire more pilots and workers.
Travelers are returning to airports in record pre-pandemic numbers this July Fourth weekend. The Transportation Security Administration posted that there were nearly 2.5 million people screened in airports nationwide on July 1. This is the highest checkpoint since Feb. 11, 2020. However, many of the flights were either canceled or delayed.
On July 1, 464 U.S. domestic and international flights were canceled and more than 6,600 were delayed, making up 28.8% of all scheduled flights. July 2 had 5,893 delays and 655 cancellations. These cancellations follow those of Juneteenth, Father’s Day weekend, and Memorial Day. An average of 3,000 flights were canceled during these holiday weekends.
The main reasons for these cancellations are staffing shortages and pilot shortages. This led some airlines to cut thousands of flights in advance for the summer. Airline executives have blamed understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration for the cancellations and delays, but the FAA disputed the blames with a statement.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press that he wanted to wait and see how air travel does over the summer to decide whether he will take action against airlines. He tweeted on Saturday that passengers can claim refunds for canceled flights. “Airlines offer miles as compensation for some travel issues, and you can often negotiate on this. That’s between you and the airline. But you are entitled to cash refunds for canceled flights — that’s a requirement that we will continue to enforce.”
FlightAware, a company that provides flight tracking data and products, said that it expects the wave of cancellations to stabilize in the fall, as airlines hire more pilots and workers.
