Over 75,000 Flight Delays and Cancellations Kick Off Fourth of July Weekend With No End in Sight

Terminal 5, the home of British Airways at London Heathrow, taken fromn the air
Since Thursday, airlines have posted delays on over 73,000 flights, including over 400 scheduled for Sunday and Monday, and have cancelled almost 8,500 flights in addition.
For flights operating within the United States or into or out of the country, those figures are 15,306 and 3,234 respectively.
The rate of delays and cancellations in both the United States and Europe is higher this year than before the pandemic thanks to bad weather and staffing shortages in part driven by cutbacks in staffing earlier in the pandemic.
Globally, there were 1,327 cancellations on Thursday, 3,060 on Friday, 2,126 on Saturday, and already 834 into Sunday and Monday as of noon EDT Saturday.  Meanwhile, flight delays on Friday added up to 29,953, with 16,692 on Saturday.
Airports in the United States that experienced the most flight cancellations and delays were John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia in New York City, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and Boston Logan International Airport, as well as Chares de Gaulle in Paris, Schiphol in Amsterdam, and Heathrow in London.
Nationwide, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines posted the most delays and cancellations thus far while in Europe, delays and cancellations are impacting around 50% of flights for Air France, British Airways, KLM, and Lufthansa.
Fortunately for travelers, there are far fewer flight cancellations than delays,
In addition, some airlines are taking steps to limit the damage.
Delta announced it would allow all passengers to change their flights for free, without paying a difference in fare, if they switch to a date outside the first four days of July to any time through July 8, when demand is expected to be lighter.
American Airlines’ regional subsidiary Envoy is offering its pilots triple pay for picking up extra trips this month, while JetBlue is offering attendance bonuses to cabin crew to ensure necessary staffing levels.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)