US airlines cancel 2,500 flights over Memorial holiday weekend

US AIRLINES, which are still rebuilding flight crews after the Covid-19 pandemic travel slowdown, cancelled more than 2,500 flights over the four-day Memorial Day holiday that marks the traditional start of the busy summer travel season. Airlines worldwide cancelled more than 1,500 flights on Monday, according to FlightAware, after cancelling 1,642 on Sunday. On Monday, there were about 400 US flights canceled and 2,400 delayed, the flight tracking website said. Thunderstorms in Florida, New York and the mid-Atlantic were a factor in this weekend’s flight delays and cancellations, airlines said. Airlines have attributed recent flight cancellations to weather, air traffic control, Covid-19 cases among employees and other staffing issues. At the same time, airlines are working to ramp up staffing to handle expected record summer travel demand.

A total of 6.5 million air passengers were screened by the US Transportation Security Administration during the first three days of the holiday travel period, down about 10 per cent over the same period in 2019, but up over 2021 levels. Delta Air Lines canceled about 700 flights over the four-day period, according to FlightAware, including 134 flights on Monday, or about 4 per cent of scheduled trips. On Monday, Delta delayed 9 per cent of its flights. Delta said on Monday that over the weekend it had been working to cancel flights “at least 24 hours in advance of departure time wherever possible.”

The airline said 94 per cent of passengers on Sunday were accommodated on alternative flights within an average of 10 hours of their original departure time. On Thursday, Delta said it was trimming some flights over the Memorial Day weekend and into early August to improve operational reliability. Severe thunderstorms in Miami were a significant factor in flight cancellations and delays, American Airlines said. The airline cancelled 119 flights on Monday and 74 on Sunday, or about 2 per cent of scheduled trips. It also delayed 11 per cent of flights on Monday. A growing percentage of US flights fly through Florida. In total, 45 per cent of JetBlue flights touch Florida, while 40-50 per cent of Southwest Airlines touch Florida on any given day. JetBlue Airways delayed 18 per cent of its flights on Monday after delaying 30 per cent on Sunday but cancelled only 1 per cent on Monday. Last month, JetBlue said it was reducing its originally planned summer schedule by more than 10 per cent. REUTERS