Travel Chaos as U.S. Airlines Cancel 3,500+ Flights over Weekend

Upwards of 3,500 U.S. flights were scrapped over the weekend and thousands more delayed just as travel rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic.

Weather, staff availability, airspace congestion, and “technology issues” were just some of the reasons airlines gave for the disruptions as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remained silent on the matter.

AP reports FlightAware, a website that tracks flights and availability, highlighted a string of major disruptions at several Florida airports, including in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando, as well as Baltimore, New York and other airports around the country.

JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines were most affected, according to FlightAware, with JetBlue and Spirit canceling one-third of Sunday’s scheduled flights.

The problems pose significant revenue challenges for airlines already struggling to return services to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

Southwest Airlines announced cuts to their flight schedule on Thursday after thousands of canceled flights earlier this month reportedly cost them $75 million. https://t.co/wo1q6A5TUi

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 21, 2021

Local news reported storms in Florida on Saturday. Several airlines said Sunday operations are returning to normal but some delays are expected.

Southwest, the nation’s largest domestic carrier, was the hardest hit in flight numbers. The airline ditched 520 Saturday flights, or 14 percent of its total national operation, and 398 Sunday flights.

In addition to weather, Southwest said an “intermittent technology issue” early Saturday that hurt the airline.

We are experiencing flight disruptions across our network today due to briefly pausing our service earlier this morning as we worked to resolve an intermittent technology issue, as well as ongoing weather challenges impacting multiple areas within our system. (1/2)

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 2, 2022

USA Today reports budget airline Spirit, which has its headquarters and largest hub in Fort Lauderdale, had the highest percentage of weekend problems.

The carrier dropped 27 percent of its Saturday flights and the same figure again for its Sunday flights, according to FlightAware.

According to the AP report, Alaska Airlines seemed to be dealing with a separate issue.

The airline said Sunday weekend flight cancellations that began Friday have affected more than 37,000 customers and further schedule changes were possible.

It declined to say why but referred in its statement to contract negotiations with its pilots. Off-duty pilots picketed in several U.S. cities Friday over stalled negotiations.

They have been without a new contract for three years.

“Alaska Airlines failed to properly plan for increased travel demand and take the steps necessary to ensure it attracted and retained pilots,” the pilots union said in a Friday press release.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remained silent on the matter as of late Sunday night and into Monday morning.

Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: [email protected]

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases