Since the start of the July 4th holiday, US airlines have canceled or delayed more than 16,500 flights flying in, to or out of the US, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightAware. That includes about 1,250 canceled flights and another 15,400 delays from Friday to Sunday. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines fared the worst, with both canceling about 250 flights each, or 3 percent of their schedule, according to FlightAware. Meanwhile, United Airlines canceled 120, or about 2% of its flights. Despite the chaos, FlightAware shows that U.S. airlines are getting back on track after a rough weekend, with United, American and Delta canceling 42, 42 and 38 flights, respectively, on Monday at press time. That compares to 51, 28 and 54 flights canceled on Sunday, respectively, while 43, 104 and 81 flights were canceled on Saturday, per FlightAware. Southwest Airlines had only canceled six flights on Monday at press time. Bad weather and staff shortages contributed to the chaos, according to CNN, but former airline pilot and FlightAware spokeswoman Kathleen Bangs said pilot and air traffic control (ATC) staffing were the biggest factors. “Weather has always affected aviation, but the weather so far this summer has been no worse than normal,” he told CNN. “When we see severe weather, it takes more time for airlines to fight and recover. They don’t have the deep bench of pilots to call on. It really seems to be more of a system-wide staffing issue, going all the way up to the FAA in terms of concerns an air traffic control system’. United CEO Scott Kirby told Bloomberg in June that ATC staff at the hub at Newark Liberty International Airport have caused massive disruptions, saying there are days they are at 50 percent. The Federal Aviation Administration told Insider that the agency “doesn’t have a system-wide shortage of air traffic controllers,” but has placed more controllers at facilities in Florida to support increased travel demand. Jacksonville’s Air Traffic Control Center, in particular, has experienced staffing issues over the months, with airline lobby group Airlines for American (A4A) saying the facility was understaffed for 27 of the past 30 days since June 24 . A4A has called on Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg to address staffing issues ahead of the July 4 holiday, saying the shortages have “resulted in blue-sky traffic restrictions”. Buttigieg has warned of penalties for airlines if operations are not improved. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders called on the cabinet member to fine airlines $55,000 “per passenger for each cancellation of a flight they know cannot be fully staffed.” The previous three holiday weekends proved to be hectic for US airlines, with about 3% of flights canceled on Memorial Day and 4% canceled during June, according to FlightAware. According to CNN, airlines typically canceled no more than 1% of flights in 2019. Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst and president of the Atmosphere Research Group, told Insider that the situation is not expected to improve, especially as shortages continue. “The system no longer buckles when there’s a problem,” he said. “It just clicks.”
