United Airlines had canceled more than 560 flights as of Wednesday evening, a fourth day of heavy disruptions that mark the airline’s most turbulent stretch since demand for air travel bounced back two years ago.
Since Saturday, United has canceled more than 2,300 flights, including almost 800 on Tuesday — the carrier’s worst single day since the early weeks of the pandemic. The carrier saw 20 percent of its flights canceled and 39 percent delayed Wednesday.
The airline has been shaken by storms in the New York area that have caused setbacks at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of its major hubs. JetBlue, which also has a heavy presence in the region, has also been affected with nearly 90 flights canceled Wednesday. Among all carriers, more than 1,000 flights were canceled nationwide.
The disruptions were set to continue, with the Federal Aviation Administration issuing ground stops for Newark and LaGuardia Airport because of thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon. The continued bad weather raises the prospects of a troubled start to the July Fourth holiday weekend.
United chief executive Scott Kirby has sought to deflect some of the blame, saying in a message to staff Monday that air traffic controller shortages have exacerbated problems brought on by the weather. That contention is disputed by unions at the airline, who have pointed to internal problems with scheduling crews.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, shared a picture on Twitter of people resting on cots at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
“Unacceptable!” she wrote. “Passengers should know this means these crews are not legal to work a reassignment, which exacerbates the problem. This is NOT an ATC problem.” The Federal Aviation Administration, which runs the air traffic control system, has not directly responded to Kirby’s message but has said it is willing to work with partners to improve operations. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with Kirby on Wednesday, his office said.
United did not respond to questions Tuesday or Wednesday about what it was doing to recover. Passengers have complained about long waits on hold or in airport lines, disappearing baggage, and a lack of information from United.
The airline industry has faced waves of delays and cancellations since 2021, as carriers struggled to rebuild after the onset of the pandemic. But until this week, United had largely been unscathed, even as competitors American Airlines and Southwest Airlines faced extended spells of trouble.
This summer travel season, beginning with Memorial Day weekend, had largely gone smoothly. Heading into the July Fourth weekend, United had been confident it was prepared. “Operationally, we’re headed into the Fourth of July holiday with good momentum, having led all airlines in on-time departures for five out of the last nine days,” the company said in a memo last week. “United’s network is built to run well and recover fast, and we expect our operation to reflect that through the peak summer season.”
Instead, the carrier is now facing a major test.
The week started off badly, with storms on Sunday that caused delays at the three major New York-area airports that rippled throughout the system. Those problems were exacerbated when FAA officials were forced to halt flights into three D.C.-area airports — Baltimore-Washington International Marshall, Reagan National and Dulles International — after issues with an overheated power cable at a control center that manages regional air traffic forced it to switch to backup power until the cable could be replaced.
The Association of Flight Attendants said United is offering triple pay to flight attendants to agree to pick up extra trips through July 6.
Announcing a grant in South Carolina on Wednesday, Buttigieg said he had been caught up in the disruptions, although it wasn’t clear what airline he was flying on. Buttigieg said he had a flight canceled and another delayed and didn’t end up getting to his hotel until 2:30 a.m.
Despite a difficult week for travelers, Buttigieg said the overall picture was improving.
“We’ve seen the system perform much better than it did a year ago,” he said. “I think that reflects the work we’ve done. I think it reflects the airlines stepping up. I want to give them credit where credit is due. But clearly there’s a long way to go.”
With July Fourth falling on a Tuesday, the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration forecast that Thursday and Friday will be the busiest days in the skies. The TSA expects to see about 2.8 million travelers Friday.
This article originally appeared on Washington Post
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