Fourth of July travel chaos with 900 flights canceled and 8,000 delayed as airports see most passengers in two years | The Sun
THOUSANDS of flight cancellations and delays have caused frustrating chaos for millions of Americans hoping to travel over the holiday weekend.
As of Sunday evening, over 933 flights have been canceled and at least 8,498 flights have been delayed due to bad weather as well as staffing shortages, per FlightAware.
The July 4th weekend chaos has been worsened by Tropical Storm Bonnie and Tropical Storm Colin.
Tropical Storm Colin put storm warnings in effect for much of the coastal Carolinas this weekend and is said to affect Fourth of July gatherings with heavy rainfall.
Colin originated near Florida's east coast on Saturday then traveled towards Georgia before moving inland over South Carolina.
Tropical Storm Bonnie worsens Southern weather as Reuters predicts that the storm will intensify into a hurricane off the coast of Mexico.
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Over the past week, thousands of flights were canceled with American and Delta nixing the most plane trips as Delta pilots protest work conditions, according to NBC News.
The canceled flights come as an email warning from Delta advised of "operational issues" and urged flyers to rebook their trips with "no fare difference or change fees."
However, Delta pilots and flight attendants were photographed on Thursday taking part in an informational picket at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.
A Delta Airlines pilot, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke with WSB-TV about why so many flights are getting canceled.
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He told the news outlet: "Obviously there is an airline pilot shortage across the board for most domestic airlines."
“They’re being caused by staffing issues. They go far beyond pilots just getting sick," the pilot said.
"We’re not the only ones canceling these flights, but what we do feel, and I as a pilot and a lot of my colleagues feel, is that Delta has kind of backed themselves into this position."
In a statement to WSB, Delta said: "Delta teams continue to safely manage through compounding factors affecting our operation, including higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some of our work groups.
"Canceling a flight is always our last resort, and we sincerely apologize to our customers."
PRE-PANDEMIC NUMBERS
The traffic comes as Transportation Security Administration Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein reported that TSA officers screened 2,490,490 people at airport security checkpoints nationwide on Friday, July 1.
The number is the highest since February 11, 2020, when 2,507,588 people were screened.
"We are back to pre-pandemic checkpoint volume," Farbstein wrote.
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One high-volume airport, JFK in New York, was evacuated Sunday morning as police scrambled to a "security incident" at Terminal 4.
Officials warned there would be "residual traffic delays" which could delay access to the airport for passengers on top of the existing travel complications.
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