Flight disruptions intensified on Tuesday as heavy thunderstorms and staffing issues kicked off a difficult start to the summer.
Greater than 6,400 U.S. flights were delayed Tuesday night and one other 1,800 were canceled, FlightAware data showed, because the storms that derailed hundreds of trips over the weekend continued in airspace that’s heavily congested on a clear day. That is as well as to greater than 8,800 US delays and a couple of,246 cancellations on Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended flights to Recent York’s LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airport in Recent Jersey. Delays at these airports averaged three hours or more. The FAA said the storms were blocking arrival and departure routes.
The disruption comes ahead of the busy holiday travel season on July 4, when tens of millions are expected to fly. The Transportation Security Administration said it could screen more travelers than it did in 2019, pre-pandemic, increasing competition for seats.
The Biden administration has put pressure on airlines to improve their operations after widespread flight disruptions last spring and summer, prompting carriers to in the reduction of on their overambitious schedules. However the industry struggled to recuperate this past weekend after a series of storms that endured for days.
Thunderstorms are difficult for airlines because they will form with less warning than other major weather obstacles equivalent to winter storms and hurricanes. Traffic delays can force crews to meet federally mandated workday limits and make the disruption even worse.
FlightAware figures showed that around 30,000 flights had arrived late since Saturday, with cancellation rates from Saturday to Monday greater than tripled the annual average.
Some airline executives also blamed a number of the disruption on shortages of air traffic controllers.
United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby told staff on Monday that “the FAA truthfully allow us to down this weekend.” During Saturday’s storms, the FAA cut arrivals by 40% and departures by 75% at Newark Liberty International Airport in Recent Jersey, one in all the airline’s largest hubs, he said.
“This has led to massive delays, cancellations, detours, and lack of position for crews and aircraft,” Kirby wrote in a staff memo seen by CNBC. “And that put everyone behind eight when the weather actually hit Sunday and was further compounded by FAA staffing shortfalls on Sunday night.”
An FAA spokesperson said in a statement: “We’ll all the time work with anyone seriously willing to join us to resolve the difficulty.”
Staffing challenges will not be recent. The Covid-19 pandemic has prevented the hiring and training of latest air traffic controllers, and the agency is now trying to catch up.
The Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General said wa report last week that air traffic control staffing shortages are jeopardizing air traffic operations. In March, the FAA and a few airlines agreed to reduce flights to ease congestion at Recent York City’s busy airports due to staffing issues.
But the issues persist as airlines prepare crews and schedules for a busy summer season fueled by continued travel demand.
And the disruption frustrated flight crews who were waiting to be reassigned.
The Association of Flight Stewards-CWA, which represents flight attendants at United and elsewhere, said in a memo to members on Monday that wait times for crew scheduling were greater than three hours.
“Union leadership and flight management fully recognize that something needs to be done to permanently treatment these hostile situations resulting from irregular operations,” the union said.
In response to the union’s memo, United said it had “implemented all available resources to make amends for call volumes, including increased crew planning staffing and mandatory additional time for the planning team.”
Based in Recent York JetBlue Airways has also struggled with long flight delays over the past few days and acknowledged it could improve the way it handled the disruption in Monday’s memo to crew members, which was reviewed by CNBC.
Don Uselmann, JetBlue’s vice chairman of in-flight experience, said the airline could update crew check-in times more efficiently to keep staff from waiting for flights and reduce waiting times for hotel assignments.
“The summer peak has officially begun and extreme weather events, ATC staffing constraints and resulting delays will put all airlines to the test,” he wrote in his memo. “This weekend [irregular operation] won’t be our last, but a series of events put pressure on the operation and made it tougher than most.”