Airline disruptions rise Friday creating weekend problems
US flight cancellations rose to 1,248 on Thursday down from the record of just over 1,303 within the last month
Flight disruptions rising Friday just after airline passengers faced one of the worst days for flight cancellations in the past month, according to FlightAware.
As of 11:00 p.m. Friday, there were already over 26,000 delayed flights in, out of and across the U.S. and more than 2,800 cancellations, according to data from the flight tracking website. FlightAware provides live flight delay and cancellation statistics.
American Airlines is canceling about 270 flights — more than 7% of its schedule.
Total cancellations for flights in, out of and across the U.S. rose to 1,248 on Thursday, which was the second-worst day for flight cancellations in the last month alone, according to FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs.
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The number was slightly down from July 25 — the highest number of cancellations within the last month — when 1,303 flights were scrapped.
Travelers check departure screens at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh / AP Newsroom)
Thursday's disruptions didn't stop there. According to the data, there were also 8,225 delays for flights in, out of, and across the United States.
Southwest Airlines led U.S. passenger carriers with the most disruptions Thursday, which the air carrier says were caused by "weather-related challenges in Phoenix and the Northeast."
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"We’re working to get our customers to their destinations safely and as quickly as possible," a spokesperson for Southwest told FOX Business.
This comes after a summer of continued flight delays and cancellations across the entire industry as demand ramped up to pre-pandemic levels.
A canceled flight on the departures board at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / AP Newsroom)
Bad weather can quickly snarl air traffic during the summer, but the industry has also been facing significant staffing shortages.
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Airlines have been working around the clock to counter these issues, including ramping up hiring and training. Alaska promised passengers earlier this summer that it "should be back to flying a reliable and well-staffed operation" by July.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian also told analysts last month that the airline has invested in measures to restore its "operational integrity, including earlier boarding procedures and operational buffers."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.