Flights are being canceled in large numbers ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, when many Americans begin their summer vacations, the Associated Press reported on the 29th.
According to the online flight tracking service FlightAware, more than 1,500 flights were canceled on the 28th May 2022.
On the 27th, the day before, about 2,300 flights were canceled.
Delta Air Lines had the most flight cancellations. On the 28th alone, 250 flights, or 9% of the total, failed to take off from the runway.
At Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, where Delta is headquartered, 5% of all flights on the 28th were canceled and 16% delayed.
Delta announced on the 26th May that it would reduce its daily flights by about 100 flights from July 1 to August 7 in the United States and parts of South America.
Delta explained to the AP that the reason for the cancellation was ‘weather bad weather’ and ‘air traffic control measures’.
Demand for travel is rapidly rising, but it seems that the airline industry has not yet recovered from the aftermath of COVID-19, such as a manpower shortage.
Allison Osband, chief customer officer, said, “A variety of factors are influencing our business than ever before,” citing weather, air traffic control, customer staffing, and unexpected increases in absenteeism due to the spread of COVID-19.
Airline and tourism industry forecasts that as travel restrictions are eased this summer, the desire for travel accumulated by not being able to go out of the house will erupt, resulting in a huge crowd of people at the airport.
Airlines have thousands of fewer employees than in 2019, leading to widespread cancellations, with many experts predicting that travel numbers could return to or even exceed pre-COVID-19 levels.
AP also reported that those planning a summer trip to Injeya are surprised by the price of air tickets.
Round-trip tickets in the United States have averaged over $400 and are 24% more expensive than in the summer of 2019.