Today, roughly 800 flights have been canceled and nearly 3,000 have been delayed, making it the third day in a row that thousands of Americans have been unable to begin their summer vacations.
Travel in the United States was hampered by 8,900 delays and 1,470 cancellations on Friday, and more than 1,700 were canceled on Thursday.
The major delays and cancellations have been attributed to a week of stormy weather, according to airlines. Heavy storms hit the Midwest earlier this week, causing massive delays as hundreds of passengers attempted to change planes.
Much of the United States is now under a heat advisory, which might have an impact on travel because flying in intense heat burns significantly more fuel, resulting in tighter weight limitations.
The enormous delays occurred as summer holiday traffic began to pick up this week, with thousands of people taking their yearly vacations.
According to USA Today, ticketholders on Delta and American Airlines were among the most dissatisfied, as the airlines’ flight schedules reduced by six and four percent, respectively.
The majority of the cancellations, according to an American Airlines representative, were ‘weather-related.’
The persistent pattern of disgruntled travelers and a high number of cancellations prompted Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to order airline CEOs to clean up their act and avoid another flight disaster before July 4.
Buttigieg, like millions of other travelers, is fed up with the airlines’ almost continuous cancellations without so much as an explanation.
The father of two has given airline officials a two-week deadline to clean up the mess and ensure that travelers can enjoy a patriotic weekend and summer without the stress of dealing with airports.
Buttigieg told the Today Show, “At the end of the day, they have to deliver.” On Thursday, the Democrat met with top airline executives to warn them about the Memorial Day calamity, which resulted in the cancellation of 2,700 flights.
Airlines will not be able to entirely alter over a two-week timeframe, according to Lindsey Roeschke, Travel and Hospitality Analyst at Morning Consult, who said that several airlines are ‘negotiating with pilot unions.’
However, according to a recent Flight Aware poll, domestic flight cancellations increased by only 1% from January 1 to June 13 compared to the same period last year, rising from 2% to 3%.
‘Cancellations in 2022 have not been much higher than in previous years,’ Roeschke said on Friday to DailyMail.com. ‘Airlines will always strive to adhere to their schedules.’
In a statement, Airlines for America, a trade group that represents major US airlines, said it ‘always seeks to offer a safe and seamless travel.’
Despite Buttigieg’s call for seamless travel for the approaching big holiday in two weeks, Roeschke believes it is “unlikely” that the weekend will be “zero interruption.”
‘Frustrations and expectations are a little bit higher because people are eager about traveling,’ Roeschke told DailyMail.com.
Furthermore, the analyst stated that after two summers of stay-actions, consumer expectations are greater, which is fueling the current’revenge travel’ trend, which means that more travelers are venturing to new areas and fun destinations to make up for the previous two years.
‘If you canceled your summer vacation [last year], your expectations might be higher,’ Roeschke said on Friday, which is leading some tourists to forget that flight cancellations are sometimes unavoidable due to weather and that they don’t always have access to inside information that keeps planes grounded, such as shortages.
She said, ‘Consumers are less conscious of pilot shortages.’
At the national level, travel demand has increased by 87 percent since pre-pandemic levels, and Florida is drowning even more as people yearn for a pleasant cocktail on a sandy beach after two years in their living rooms.
According to the Today Show, all major airports in Florida have exceeded demand by 100 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
On Friday, Roeschke said, “We’re absolutely going to have a summer where people are traveling.”
In addition to the increased travel demand, airlines such as Delta, United, Southwest, and JetBlue are facing a significant pilot shortage.
Airlines have been forced to stop planes and reschedule flights, stranding many disgruntled passengers in airports and on tarmacs.
The previous high was $4.11 in the summer of 2008, during the start of the Great Recession.
‘People may consider trading off for road vacations in the past, but gas costs aren’t really affordable right now,’ Roeschke said on Friday.
‘Travelers want to go this summer, but they feel trapped.’
According to a recent survey conducted by the US Travel Association, one out of every ten people cannot afford to take a road trip this year due to rising costs.
Joseph Jones, a 52-year-old Dallas resident, had planned to drive to Nashville and visit other Civil War sites along the way, but he abandoned his trip after spending $60 on gas.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, he said, “I thought, “This is absurd.”
Another traveler, Kevin Ng, a California middle school teacher, said the rises disrupted his plans to drive from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest region to visit friends and relatives.
‘I’m number one out of ten.’ I had plans at first, but they all fell through. Increased gas prices make rent and groceries appear more expensive.
‘There were also some complications with new management at the company where I work, and the salary was botched up.’
‘Pay is on its way, but on a different schedule.’
‘In general, our company has been hit with so much chaos and low morale as a result of the world crisis, where everyone is attempting to blame everyone other.’ But, certainly, there aren’t any money,’ he said.
According to a new report by the US Travel Association, the overall cost of travel has increased by 18% since 2019, yet Americans are undaunted.
According to April data by insurance company Allianz, almost 25 million Americans, or three-quarters of the population, are planning a domestic vacation.
According to a Morning Consult poll, 80% indicated they meant to try domestically and 25% said they planned to try abroad.
However, because the data was obtained before the mask and testing restrictions were repealed, Roeschke anticipates the international figure to rise.
Due to staffing issues, international travelers may expect long lines at customs. Tourists should anticipate to wait hours in sluggish moving lines due to fewer TSA agents stamping passports and inquiring why travelers are entering the US.
After flying in from London on Sunday night, one tired traveler said he had to wait two hours to get through JFK in New York because there were only two CBP personnel processing passengers.
‘I had to wait almost two hours to get through TSA passport check after a seven-hour journey from London (including an aborted landing due to excessive traffic).’ The non-US citizens division has only three employees working at the desks.
‘The section for US citizens seemed to be better manned (their wait time fell below ‘Minimum 60 minutes’ a few of occasions during our wait).
‘It makes a bad first impression on visitors to the United States.’ Some unfortunate people who had connecting flights had to beg to be moved to the front of the line so they could walk out, retrieve their baggage, and check in again.
‘One woman appeared to be on the edge of tears,’ claimed the British man, who did not want to be identified.