Over 1,600 Flights Canceled in Four Days Amid US Independence Day Holiday Air Travel Chaos

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] As the United States celebrated the Independence Day holiday, a large number of travelers flocked, causing numerous flight delays and cancellations across the country.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 4th (local time), citing the flight tracking site FlightAware, that over 1,400 flights were canceled from last Friday, the 1st, through the previous day. During this period, delayed flights exceeded 14,000.

As of 6:20 PM on the last day of the holiday, 228 flights were canceled and 2,145 flights were delayed. Consequently, over the four-day holiday, the number of canceled and delayed flights surpassed 1,600 and 16,000 respectively.

This surge is attributed to the sharp increase in travel demand starting before the weekend of July 4th Independence Day. Amid labor shortages at major airlines and airport control towers since the COVID-19 pandemic, the influx of travelers inevitably caused disruptions.

On the 1st, just before the holiday, 2.49 million people passed through airport security checkpoints operated by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), marking the highest number this year and exceeding the 2.18 million on the same day in 2019 before the pandemic. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), at least 48 million Americans traveled during the Independence Day holiday period.

Additionally, flight cancellations on some routes due to tropical storms and other weather impacts in areas such as South Carolina reportedly affected other routes as well.

Robert Mann Jr., a former airline executive who runs an aviation consulting firm, told the NYT, "Typically, about 20% of flights are delayed or canceled," adding, "During this holiday, that rate reached 30%. It was worse than usual."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.