Jul 3, 2022 - Economy & Business
Delays, cancellations plague travelers over Fourth of July weekend
U.S. airlines are bracing customers for what will probably be a bumpy Fourth of July holiday weekend as the industry struggles to manage a surge in travel demand that probably exceeds its current capacity. Photo: STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Ttravelers are facing delays and cancellations amid the traditionally busy Fourth of July travel weekend.
Driving the news: More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled so far this weekend within, into or out of the U.S. Fifty-five flights for Independence Day itself have been cancelled, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.
- About 14,000 flights have been delayed so far over the holiday weekend, according to FlightAware.
- While cancellations are causing problems for travelers over the Fourth of July weekend, they so far remain lower than the more than 2,800 flights cancelled over Memorial Day weekend.
The big picture: As summer travel returns after two years of pandemic, airlines around the world have faced difficulty keeping up with demand amid labor shortages.
- The Transportation Security Administration screened almost 2.5 million people at airport security checkpoints on Friday, the most since February 2020, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said on Twitter.
- "We are back to pre-pandemic checkpoint volume," Farbstein said.