Thousands more flights canceled as transportation secretary meets with CEOs over summer air chaos
Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed in the past 48 hours due to disruptive weather, leaving travelers across the U.S. stranded for hours as
Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed in the past 48 hours due to disruptive weather, leaving travelers across the U.S. stranded for hours as airlines, already strapped for personnel, face booming summer demand.
More than 6,500 flights were scrapped Thursday and Friday, according to the data group FlightAware, while nearly 12,000 flights were delayed. The troubles came as storms gripped parts of the South and Northeast; flights into and out of North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport were most affected, followed by airports in the New York-New Jersey area.
The disruptions came as transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg met virtually late Thursday with airline CEOs to discuss ways to improve performance and operations. CNBC, quoting a source familiar with the talks, reported Buttigieg asked airlines what steps they were taking to ease disruptions, especially with the July 4 weekend approaching.
Airlines under pressure with soaring summer passenger levels and pilot exhaustionJune 16, 202202:35“We appreciated the opportunity to meet with Department of Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to discuss our shared commitment to prioritizing the safety and security of all travelers as they reunite with friends, family and colleagues this summer,” Nicholas Calio, CEO of Airlines for America, which represents large U.S. carriers, said in a statement according to CNBC.
The summer travel season kicked off inauspiciously, as some 2,700 flights were canceled over Memorial Day. That came as airlines like Delta said they were canceling as many as 100 daily departures this summer.
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