United Airlines’ troubles again impact travelers at Denver International Airport

Nationwide travel disruptions on Wednesday again impacted travelers flying in and out of Denver International Airport, which hada total of  213 delays and 79 cancellations as of 10:45 a.m., according to the FlightAware tracking service.

United Airlines stood out, leading other airlines at DIA on Wednesday with the bulk of the problems: 76 cancellations and 108 delays,  FlightAware data show.

That brought United Airlines’ total at DIA over four days starting Sunday to 370 cancellations and 857 delays, the data show.

Stranded passengers chafed. United staffers set up 500 cots at DIA Monday and relied on Denver airport officials to provide blankets. It was unclear whether those cots still were in place at the airport on Wednesday.

United officials did not respond to queries Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week, United officials pointed to severe weather as a driver of cancellations and delays because flight crews, pilots, and other staffers were hung up in other parts of the country. “Recurring thunderstorms in the Northeast have made airline operations very challenging,” airline public relations team members wrote in an email Tuesday. “We know our customers are eager to get to their destinations. Our teams at airports and our contact centers have been working significant overtime to restore the reliability our customers depend on.”

United’s chief executive Scott Kirby estimated that more than 150,000 United customers nationwide were affected over the past weekend. In a memo to United East Coast employees on Monday, Kirby pointed to Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control staffing problems as a cause of travel disruption. Kirby told employees he is “frustrated” and that “the FAA frankly failed us” by reducing airport arrival and departure rates — troubles “compounded” by bad weather.

Ranked as the world’s third-busiest airport for passenger traffic with 69.3 million travelers a year landing, taking off, or connecting, DIA stands out as a key hub as the summer travel season begins. It serves as one of United’s main hubs.

Around the nation, air travel problems persisted Wednesday with thousands of people stuck due to delays and cancellations. Staffing shortages at airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, which lacks air traffic controllers, again played a role. When severe weather hits and disrupts flights, air travel operations cannot recover easily amid staffing shortages.

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