This year’s most popular air travel day was a mess and things won’t change anytime soon
Since this summer long weekend also coincides with Father’s Day, that means there will be a lot of travel.
TSA agents said they screened about 2,438,784 people at airport security checkpoints nationwide on Friday, the highest checkpoint volume since Nov. 28, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was also about 100,000 more travelers than the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.
“Welcome to the June 19 trip weekend!” wrote TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein on Twitter.
While Juneteenth became a holiday last year, this is the first year the US stock market and banks will close in its honor.
In all, more than 3,200 flights were canceled between Friday and Sunday, according to FlightAware, including more than 850 flights on Saturday and more than 900 on Sunday.
Delta Air Lines alone canceled at least 248 flights on Sunday. United Airlines canceled 90 flights and American Airlines canceled 96 flights.
“Various factors continue to impact our operations, including air traffic control issues, weather conditions and unplanned absences from certain workgroups,” Delta said in a statement to CNN. “Flight cancellation is always our last resort, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for any inconvenience to their travel plans.”
CNN has reached out to United and American for comment on the flight cancellations.
Delta announced that it will cancel 100 daily flights in the United States and Latin America from July 1 to August 7. In an open letter to customers, Delta pilots wrote that labor shortages have caused them to work more overtime this year than in any country. of 2018 and 2019 combined.
“The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines simply won’t be able to meet their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the five next few years,” said Scott, CEO of United Airlines. Kirby said during the airline’s quarterly earnings call in April.
Some US senators are taking note. “While some flight cancellations are unavoidable, the large number of delays and cancellations over the past weekend raises questions about airline decision-making,” Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey wrote in a letter to Buttigieg earlier this month.