During the busiest travel day of the peak summer break season, over 1,500 flights were canceled across the United States on Thursday.
Nearby Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey saw more than one-fourth of its scheduled flights canceled, while more than a third of its scheduled flights were canceled at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
The cancellations arrived three weeks after airlines canceled 2,800 flights in five days surrounding the Memorial Day vacation weekend.
Airlines CEOs conducted a virtual meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg—a show of anxiety from the Biden Administration over the likelihood of clogged airports and disgruntled travelers this summer.
We are counting on them to deliver dependably for the traveling public,” Buttigieg said on NBC News in an interview.
CEOs were asked by Buttigieg to detail their plans for ensuring seamless operations during the July 4 holiday and throughout summer, according to a person who was familiar with the videoconference discussion but not authorized to speak publicly.
According to the source, Buttigieg urged airlines to see if they could handle the published timetables and enhance customer experience.
“Discuss our common commitment to prioritizing the safety and security of all travelers,” said Nicholas Calio, president of industry organization Airlines for America, in a statement.
Some airlines have difficulty operating their scheduled flights due to staffing shortages, particularly among pilots. During the early stages of the flu pandemic, Delta, American, and Southwest pilots were retiring or taking leave of absence, and their replacements were not fast enough.
After the holiday weekend, two Democratic senators raised issues about airline decision-making. It has come to the point where “delays and cancellations are becoming an almost-expected feature of travel,” according to Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal and Massachusetts’ Edward Markey.
According to the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation responsible for overseeing the nation’s airspace and inclement weather, is to blame. Calio outlined many FAA delays and personnel issues in a letter to senators during the holiday weekend.
Since the spring, the airlines and the FAA have been at odds with delays in Florida, where air travel has returned more quickly than in many other parts of the country. An air traffic control center near Jacksonville, Florida, will get more employees after the FAA met with airline executives in May to discuss the matter.
As the daily average number of Americans flying exceeds 2.2 million, there is growing anxiety about possible flight delays or cancellations. Even though this is still around 300,000 fewer people each day than in mid-June 2019, the crowds are expected to swell over the next few weeks and are sure to break the pandemic-era national record on the Sunday beyond Thanksgiving last year.
Gateway airports, where travelers first arrive in the United States, are prone to congestion. Last weekend, the administration of Vice President Joe Biden withdrew a 16-month requirement that anyone who wants to travel to the United States test negative for Covid-19. United Airlines reported on Monday that it immediately witnessed an increase in searches for international flights due to this move.
Airline companies are urged by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade equipment that could be interfered with by a new wireless service. Billy Nolen, the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, informed airlines on Wednesday that Verizon and AT&T expect to activate hundreds of 5G C-band transmitters near airports on July 5.
The initial C-band service rollout by wireless carriers did not have the disastrous consequences predicted at the beginning of the year. However, Nolen stated that FAA could not guarantee that some flights would not have issues. Several planes with faulty gear can be repaired by the end of the year or even in 2023, according to industry officials.
US airlines’ stock prices fell between 6 and 9 percent on Thursday as investors became nervous about the economy.
