US flight delays still surpassing pre-pandemic levels
Delays on both Friday, Sunday totaled over 5,000
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Airline delays are still surpassing pre-pandemic levels even as the hectic summer travel season winds down and families settle in for another school year.
Delays over the past weekend were slightly higher than the number of delays travelers faced over the bustling Labor Day holiday, according to data from flight tracker FlightAware.
The data showed that there were more than 5,000 delays on both Friday and Sunday. There were also 3,600 delays on Saturday.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG SCOLDS AIRLINE CEOS OVER FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS: 'UNACCEPTABLE'
Screens display flight departure schedules at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 2, 2022. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, over the Labor Day holiday week, 17% of all flights were delayed. During the same period in 2019, the delay rate was 12%.
This year, travelers faced the highest number of delays on Sept. 2, just ahead of the three-day weekend, with 4,983 disrupted flights, followed by Sept. 8 with 4,692 delays.
Travelers walk through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on July 2, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Cancellations, on the other hand, have been easing throughout the country, "which was a success for U.S. carriers plagued by high numbers of delays and high cancellations over other summer holiday weekends," FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs told FOX Business.
OVER 6K FLIGHTS DELAYED, CANCELED ON MONDAY
In 2019, cancellations were actually higher during the Labor Day holiday week at a 3% rate compared with 6% this year.
However, with a high amount of delays, "carriers might still need to continue ramping up ground staff to keep operations running smoothly when the high passenger loads and potential winter weather of Thanksgiving approach," Bangs added.
Travelers wait in line at an American Airlines counter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on July 2, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds /AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Just ahead of the Labor Day holiday, the Department of Transportation – fed up with the persistent airline issues – launched a dashboard to help travelers understand the compensation they are entitled to if a carrier delays or cancels a flight.
The goal of the dashboard is to give travelers the chance to choose airlines that offer the best refunds or compensation in case of disruptions.
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It launched shortly after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told the CEOs of 10 U.S. airlines that his department could take action if carriers don’t provide more transparency on why the disruptions are occurring, calling the problems in recent months "unacceptable."