Data shows travelers are returning to airports across the United States in record pre-pandemic numbers this July Fourth holiday weekend, but they continue to face thousands of flight delays and cancellations.
Agency spokesperson Lisa Farbstein tweeted on Saturday, July 2, that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened 2,490,490 passengers at airport security checkpoints on Friday, July 1. That is the most since February 11, 2020, when the agency screened more than 2.5 million passengers, resulting in travel chaos for parents.
Among the passengers affected this Fourth of July weekend was Lynnae Shubert and her 10-year-old daughter, Brynn. Dallas Morning News found the mother and daughter at a Love Field gate, visibly tired as they waited for a connecting flight to New York. The 36-year-old Shubert was traveling from Amarillo with her husband, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and Brynn.
Flight delays and cancellations wreak havoc in the U.S.
With Brynn resting her head on her shoulder, Shubert said she flies all the time, and it has gotten progressively worse. She added that Love Field was way busier than usual on Friday. Shubert said she had to sleep on the airport floor a few months ago with her sister-in-law, Rebecca McCleland, after their flight got delayed for the latter's bachelorette party. That hasn't scared the family away, though, from trying to spend their Fourth of July in the Big Apple.
The same scene was witnessed at DFW Airport, where Katherine Chou was seen nursing her 4-month-old daughter, Bridgette. Chou's two sons, Everett, 4, and Spencer, 2, sat nearby, munching on English muffins as they waited for their delayed flight home to Philadelphia. Friday's flight was the first time Katherine and her husband traveled with all three of their children. The family flew to Dallas to attend the 90th birthday party of Chou's grandmother.
According to the flight tracker FlightAware, 464 U.S. domestic and international flights were canceled, and more than 6,600 were delayed on the same day, which was 28.8 percent of scheduled flights overall.
More than 930 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed on Sunday morning, July 3, and more than 200 flights were canceled as well, according to FlightAware. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport had the highest rates of cancellations and delays.
FlightAware added that 53 flights within, into, or out of the country had already been canceled for the Fourth of July as of Sunday morning. Sunday's cancellations followed the travel chaos that transpired on Saturday, where 5,893 delays and 655 cancellations happened into or out of the U.S.
The July Fourth weekend flight delays and cancellations follow those of Juneteenth and Father's Day weekend, including the busiest air travel day of the year in the U.S. before Friday. That particular weekend had more than 3,300 flight cancellations from Friday to Monday. Memorial Day weekend also proved problematic for American travelers, with about 2,700 flights canceled during that period.
Staffing and pilot shortages forced some airlines to pre-emptively cut thousands of flights for the summer season, causing outrage among affected travelers. Airline executives have blamed understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for flight delays and cancellations, but the FAA has disputed that claim in a statement.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press last month that he first wanted to wait to see how air travel over the July Fourth weekend and the rest of the summer went before determining whether his department would take enforcement action against the airlines.
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Passengers can claim refunds for their canceled flights
Buttigieg posted a tweet on Saturday stating that passengers can claim refunds for canceled flights. He noted in a thread that his own connecting flight was canceled on Friday night and that he was able to claim a $112 refund.
Buttigieg tweeted that airlines offer miles as compensation for some travel issues. He wrote that you could often negotiate on this, but that is between you and the airline. He added that a person is entitled to cash refunds for canceled flights, a requirement that his department will continue to enforce.
FlightAware spokeswoman Kathleen Bangs told NBC News that the wave of cancellations will stabilize by the fall season as airlines reduce their flight schedules and aim to hire more pilots and other airline workers.
