Hundreds more flights canceled Monday, disrupting the holiday weekend
By Ramishah Maruf, CNN
It’s another chaotic holiday weekend for those traveling by air this Memorial Day.
Upwards of 6,000 global flights have been canceled since Friday with hundreds more fights delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Some 1,640 flights were canceled on Sunday alone, FlightAware data indicates, with more than 500 of those flying within, into or out of the US. On Monday morning there were already 1,228 cancellations, including more than 300 flights traveling within, into or out of the US.
Delta Air Lines is heavily affected by the cancellations, with more than 500 domestic and international flights flights axed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The carrier blamed Saturday’s cancellations on bad weather and “air traffic control actions” that took place on Friday, saying it is trying to preemptively cancel flights at least 24 hours in advance.
Delta canceled 121 flights on Monday, representing 4% of its operations. American Airlines canceled 117 flights on Monday, or 3% of its operations.
Delta said in an online post that it will issue travel waivers for those affected by bad weather in the Southeast and Northeast this weekend. The most affected airports, which include the New York City and Washington, DC areas, are listed on the company’s website.
AAA estimated 3 million Americans would be traveling by air over the weekend.
On Thursday, Delta announced it was decreasing its summer flight schedule. From July 1 through August 7, the airline said, it would cut around 100 daily flights primarily in the US and Latin America.
“More than any time in our history, the various factors currently impacting our operation — weather and air traffic control, vendor staffing, increased COVID case rates contributing to higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some work groups — are resulting in an operation that isn’t consistently up to the standards Delta has set for the industry in recent years,” said Chief Customer Experience Officer Allison Ausband in an online post.
Separately, JetBlue said it would cut 8% to 10% of its summer schedule. Alaska Airlines reduced its schedule by about 2% through June to match “pilot capacity.”
— CNN’s Marnie Hunter and Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.
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