Over the July 4th holiday weekend, American airports postponed or canceled thousands of flights, perhaps due to the lack of staff at the Federal Aviation Administration.
The number of airplane travelers has reached pre-pandemic levels. The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,490,490 passengers at airport security checkpoints Friday — the most since Feb. 11, 2020, when it screened more than 2.5 million passengers, agency spokesperson Lisa Farbstein tweeted Saturday.
On that Friday, airlines canceled 464 domestic and international flights, and postponed more than 6,600, accounting for 28.8% of total flights, according to the air tracking company FlightAware.
On Sunday, they delayed over 930 flights domestically and internationally, canceling over 200. Among these numbers, 53 cancellations were made because of the coming of Independence Day. For all affected airports, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport were most likely to postpone or cancel flights.
There were thousands of flight cuts in summer due to a shortage of pilots. However, the Federal Aviation Administration refused to blame the lack of staff for the unexpected number of delays and cancellations.
In an interview last month with The Associated Press, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he wanted to wait to see how air travel over the July Fourth weekend and the rest of the summer went before he determines whether his department will take enforcement action against airlines.
“Airlines offer miles as compensation for some travel issues, and you can often negotiate on this. That’s between you and the airline,” Buttigieg tweeted. “But you are entitled to cash refunds for canceled flights — that’s a requirement that we will continue to enforce.”
Flight Aware spokeswoman Kathleen Bangs has 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.
Link to article: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/record-july-4th-travel-weekend-thousands-flights-delayed-cancelled-rcna36497
The number of airplane travelers has reached pre-pandemic levels. The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,490,490 passengers at airport security checkpoints Friday — the most since Feb. 11, 2020, when it screened more than 2.5 million passengers, agency spokesperson Lisa Farbstein tweeted Saturday.
On that Friday, airlines canceled 464 domestic and international flights, and postponed more than 6,600, accounting for 28.8% of total flights, according to the air tracking company FlightAware.
On Sunday, they delayed over 930 flights domestically and internationally, canceling over 200. Among these numbers, 53 cancellations were made because of the coming of Independence Day. For all affected airports, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport were most likely to postpone or cancel flights.
There were thousands of flight cuts in summer due to a shortage of pilots. However, the Federal Aviation Administration refused to blame the lack of staff for the unexpected number of delays and cancellations.
In an interview last month with The Associated Press, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he wanted to wait to see how air travel over the July Fourth weekend and the rest of the summer went before he determines whether his department will take enforcement action against airlines.
“Airlines offer miles as compensation for some travel issues, and you can often negotiate on this. That’s between you and the airline,” Buttigieg tweeted. “But you are entitled to cash refunds for canceled flights — that’s a requirement that we will continue to enforce.”
Flight Aware spokeswoman Kathleen Bangs has 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.
Link to article: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/record-july-4th-travel-weekend-thousands-flights-delayed-cancelled-rcna36497
