Flight cancellations mar holiday travels

Buttigieg among thousands affected

Despite an airline industry pledge of a renewed focus on reliability, travelers endured chaotic days of travel over the holiday weekend, when more than 5,000 flights were canceled and more than 27,000 were delayed since Thursday.

Among those caught in this latest round of disruptions: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ended up driving to New York after his flight from Washington was canceled Friday.

The problems over the weekend came as the Transportation Security Administration reported that more than 2.4 million people were screened at U.S. airports Friday.

The first signs of trouble came Thursday, when 1,700 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled and more than 7,700 were delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Airports in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were initially the hardest hit.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops and ground delays in response to weather and capacity constraints at airports. But as the problems continued through the weekend, the pain was felt in other parts of the country and virtually every U.S. carrier was affected.

Nearly half of JetBlue Airways’ flights were delayed nationwide during the holiday weekend. About 35% of Southwest Airlines flights were delayed, a number that stood at about one-third for American Airlines and 30% for Delta Air Lines.

“A variety of factors continue to impact our operations,” Delta said in a statement. “Canceling a flight is always our last resort, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

American and Southwest declined to comment on the latest delays. JetBlue did not respond to requests for comment.

Airlines for America, which represents major U.S. carriers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Weather has always fueled problems for airlines, but staffing shortages have further hampered carriers’ ability to recover from delays. Several unions representing airline workers have spoken out and held demonstrations.

The problems also are bringing renewed scrutiny to the industry’s handling of more than $54 billion in pandemic relief funds. The industry had argued that the money would keep front-line workers on the job, then make it easier for them to recover when demand rebounded.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., earlier this month pressed the Department of Transportation for details on how it intends to ensure that consumers are fairly compensated for flight disruptions.

In response, Airlines for America said the industry is doing its best to avoid cancellations and delays, but is dealing with high rates of employee absenteeism and incidents of “illtimed extreme weather.” There also have been staffing issues at air traffic control facilities.

The FAA said it is working with airlines to shift air traffic control staff to meet the demand and use underutilized routes.