Voice of America
29 May 2022, 01:35 GMT+10
NEW YORK - Airline travelers are not only facing sticker shock this Memorial Day weekend, the kickoff to the summer travel season. They're also dealing with a pileup of flight cancellations.
More than 1,200 flights were canceled as of 2 p.m. EST Saturday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. That followed more than 2,300 cancellations Friday.
Delta Air Lines suffered the most among U.S. airlines, with more than 240 flights, or 9% of its operations, eliminated Saturday. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, where Delta is based and has its largest hub, was heavily affected by the travel delays. On Saturday, 5% of the flights there were canceled, while 7% were delayed.
Delta noted in an email to The Associated Press that Saturday's cancellations were due to bad weather and 'air traffic control actions,' noting it's trying to cancel flights at least 24 hours in advance this Memorial Day weekend.
Delta announced on its website Thursday that from July 1 to Aug. 7, it would reduce service by about 100 daily departures, primarily in parts of the U.S. and Latin America that Delta frequently serves.
'More than any time in our history, the various factors currently impacting our operation - weather and air traffic control, vendor staffing, increased COVID case rates contributing to higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some work groups - are resulting in an operation that isn't consistently up to the standards Delta has set for the industry in recent years,' said Delta's Chief Customer Experience Officer Allison Ausband in a post.
Airlines and tourist destinations are anticipating monster crowds this summer as travel restrictions ease and pandemic fatigue overcomes lingering fear of contracting COVID-19 during travel.
Many forecasters believe the number of travelers will match or even surpass levels in the good-old, pre-pandemic days. However, airlines have thousands fewer employees than they did in 2019, and that has at times contributed to widespread flight cancellations.
People who are only now booking travel for the summer are experiencing the sticker shock.
Domestic airline fares for summer are averaging more than $400 for a round trip, 24% higher than this time in 2019, before the pandemic, and a robust 45% higher than a year ago, according to travel-data firm Hopper.
Get a daily dose of Travel Trade news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Travel Trade.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Financial markets kicked off the week on a cautious note as President Donald Trump rolled out a fresh round...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
PARIS, France: A strike by French air traffic controllers demanding improved working conditions caused significant disruptions during...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person...
Vancouver [Canada], July 11 (ANI): Canadian journalist Daniel Bordman called the attack on a cafe owned by comedian Kapil Sharma a...
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 10 (ANI): Amid ongoing devastation caused by heavy rainfall and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh,...