By David Shepardson
Tuesday May 31, 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. airlines, which are still
rebuilding flight crews after the COVID-19 pandemic travel slowdown, canceled
more than 2,500 flights over the four-day Memorial Day holiday that marks the
traditional start of the busy summer travel season.
Airlines worldwide canceled more than 1,500 flights on
Monday, according to FlightAware, after cancelling 1,642 on Sunday. On Monday,
there were about 400 U.S. flights canceled and 2,400 delayed, the flight
tracking website said.
Thunderstorms in Florida, New York and the mid-Atlantic were
a factor in this weekend's flight delays and cancellations, airlines said.
Airlines have attributed recent flight cancellations to
weather, air traffic control, COVID-19 cases among employees and other staffing
issues.
At the same time, airlines are working to ramp up staffing
to handle expected record summer travel demand. A total of 6.5 million air
passengers were screened by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration
during the first three days of the holiday travel period, down about 10% over
the same period in 2019, but up over 2021 levels.
Delta Air Lines canceled about 700 flights over the four-day
period, according to FlightAware, including 134 flights on Monday, or about 4%
of scheduled trips. On Monday, Delta delayed 9% of its flights.
Delta said Monday that over the weekend it had been working
to cancel flights "at least 24 hours in advance of departure time wherever
possible." The airline said 94% of passengers on Sunday were accommodated
on alternative flights within an average of 10 hours of their original
departure time.
On Thursday, Delta said it was trimming some flights over
the Memorial Day weekend and into early August to improve operational
reliability.
Severe thunderstorms in Miami were a significant factor in
flight cancellations and delays, American Airlines said. The airline canceled
119 flights on Monday and 74 on Sunday, or about 2% of scheduled trips. It also
delayed 11% of flights on Monday.
A growing percentage of U.S. flights fly through Florida. In
total, 45% of JetBlue flights touch Florida, while 40-50% of Southwest Airlines
touch Florida on any given day.
JetBlue Airways delayed 18% of its flights on Monday after
delaying 30% on Sunday but canceled only 1% on Monday. Last month, JetBlue said
it was reducing its originally planned summer schedule by more than 10%.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)