US Flights Canceled, Delayed During Labor Day Weekend as Travel Record Hits Highest in Three Years

During the busy Labor Day travel weekend, hundreds of flights into and out of the US were delayed, and dozens more were canceled.

According to flight tracking website Flight Aware, international travel hubs in Indonesia, Australia, Canada, and Sweden were at the top of the list of airports with the biggest delays by afternoon. However, US airports were catching up.

Thousands US Flights Have Been Delayed

In accordance with the website, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport reported 50 delays and five cancellations. New York's JFK Airport came in second in the US with 38 delays as of 2:30 pm

The website reports that 157 additional flights in addition to 1,345 overall flights into or out of the US were delayed or canceled. Turkish Airlines reported the most delays, with a total of 628. American Airlines and Delta recorded the most delays out of all US airlines, with 197 and 179, respectively.

The flight inconveniences come after a Saturday with more than 3,600 airline delays in the US. It was the largest Labor Day travel weekend in three years, according to AAA, as 32% of Americans planned to travel over the holiday. The Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it has introduced an airline customer service dashboard, leading to substantial changes from nine out of the top ten US airlines, according to New York post.

International flights were included in the calculations, which resulted in 7,263 cancellations over the four days and 35,382 delays throughout the weekend. These statistics come after a summer that was rife with travel issues, beginning with the relaxation of COVID-19 limitations in the late spring.

As travelers started to return to airports in April and May, prices surged, with airfares increasing by approximately 19 percent between March and April. Ninety percent of Americans who traveled in May said they planned to do so within the next six months.

Before Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest travel days in the United States, a group of pilots connected to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) picketed, demanding better working conditions.

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass. ), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Elizabeth Warren supported the Cash Refunds for Flight Cancellations Act, which the Senate introduced in August in response to airline problems. The bill, which was launched in tandem with a related bill in the House, would mandate that airlines issue refunds or gift cards to passengers within 30 days of a flight's cancellation, as per The Hill.

Travel Records Across US Reach Its Peak

AAA forecasts that this Labor Day travel weekend will be the busiest in three years, approaching pre-pandemic levels. The Department of Transportation stated on Thursday that it has established an airline customer service dashboard, resulting in substantial adjustments"from all but one of the 10 main US airlines, after months of painful cancellations and delays.

Staffing shortages, particularly among airline pilots, have been cited as the cause of previous summertime cancellations. Although understaffing at airlines has been cited by federal officials, the Federal Aviation Administration has personnel issues.

When compared to the same period in 2019, the cancellation rate is up by around one-third. Flight delays have increased by almost a fourth, Fox5 Atlanta reported.