More than 1,300 flights were canceled between Saturday and Sunday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware, marking another punishing weekend of travel.
Delays also totaled in the thousands over the weekend.
On Saturday, there were nearly 660 cancellations within, into, or out of the United States, FlightAware reported. On Sunday, around 1 p.m. ET, another nearly 740 flights had also been cancelled, according to FlightAware.
Newark Liberty International, Chicago Midway International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport were the three airports topping the list of most-cancelled and most-delayed flights on Sunday, according to FlightAware.
Saturday’s delays climbed to nearly 7,250 within, into, or out of the United States, according to FlightAware.
By 1 p.m. on Sunday, FlightAware reported nearly 3,000 delays within, into, or out of the United States.
Southwest Airlines and United Airlines appeared to top the list of cancellations and delays for major domestic operators. Southwest cancelled approximately 3 percent of its flights and delayed 12 percent of its flights, according to FlightAware. Meanwhile, United had canceled 3 percent of its flights and delayed 11 percent of its flights, FlightAware showed.
The delays come just days after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would consider extending the circumstances for which a passenger would be entitled to a refund if their travel plans were disrupted.
The changes for which a passenger would be entitled to a refund in the proposal include if an airline changes the arrival or departure airport, if the arrival or departure time changes by more than three hours or if an airline adds additional layover, among other suggestions.
A recent rise in cancellations has coincided with a slew of U.S. workers voluntarily exiting the work force. This is sometimes called the “great resignation.”
Between 2011 and 2019, flight cancellations were stable and that rate at which flights were cancelled remained fairly low. The rate was between 1.1 percent and 1.8 percent in any given year between that period, according to FlightAware.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, that rate spiked to 5 percent. In 2021, it settled to 1.6 percent as vaccines were distributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
