The real reasons behind US flight cancellations, delays

It’s a perfect storm — in more ways than one.

Thousands of US airline passengers were stranded by flight cancelations and delays this week, causing chaos at airports heading into a busy July 4 travel weekend.

As of Thursday afternoon, 472 flights into, out of, or within the States had been axed, and more than 2,700 were delayed, according to FlightAware.

But while airlines and other officials were quick to blame the frustrating debacle on a string of thunderstorms threatening the Northeast, the real reason behind the chaos seems to lie within a veritable Bermuda Triangle of internal miscommunications, staff shortages, and strife.

Staffing shortage

Airlines across the US were not able to recover quickly from the severe weather over the weekend due to lingering staffing shortages from the pandemic.

Most airlines made serious staff cuts in the early months of the COVID–19 pandemic, CNN explained. Rehiring to meet the renewed demand over three years later has taken longer than expected.

As a result, US domestic airline capacity is still down 10 percent compared to pre-pandemic rates, the outlet said, citing the aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The dip makes it harder to find new seats for passengers whose initial flights have been canceled, as is what happened to thousands of disgruntled travelers over the last several days.

This Friday, June 30, is now expected to be the busiest air travel day since the start of the pandemic in 2020 – and airlines are bracing for the crushing demand in understaffed capacities.

“[The airline] still [is] not running as optimally as it needs to run. We have improvements we can make. Substantial improvements, over where we were last summer,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian told investors on Tuesday, per CNN.

United – which has consistently logged the most canceled flights this week – said on Wednesday that it was in “all hands on deck” mode ahead of the July 4 holiday.

“We expect to cancel far fewer seats today compared to yesterday and our baggage backlog at Newark has dropped more than 30% since Tuesday, and off-duty flight attendants are calling in from across the country to staff open trips,” the airline said in a statement Wednesday evening.

FAA drama

United Airlines made headlines last weekend as it axed thousands of flights, many of which were out of its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The airline was still leading the way on Thursday, with 385 canceled flights and 376 delays, according to FlightAware.

In a memo to staff earlier this week, however, CEO Scott Kirby blamed the debacle on “understaffing/lower experience at the [Federal Aviation Administration].”

“It led to massive delays, cancellations, diversions, as well as crews and aircraft out of position. And that put everyone behind the eight-ball when weather did hit on Sunday and was further compounded by FAA staffing shortages Sunday evening,” he lamented.

“To be fair, it’s not the fault of the current FAA leadership,” he continued.

“[But] they are responsible for solving the problem they inherited.”

The FAA responded to Kirby’s comments in their own memo, which stated that they “will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem.”

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was quick to brush the widespread frustration under the rug at an unrelated event on Wednesday.

“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,” he said, while insisting that weather was still the major culprit behind the widespread interruptions.

“Anything under our control at the FAA we’re going to be working on and anything under the airlines’ control, they need to step up and take responsibility,” he concluded.

Union debacle

Despite Kirby’s eagerness to place the blame onto the FAA, the top union at United suggests otherwise.

“The levels of frustration are high and it feels as if there is no solution in sight – especially for those who have been on duty for extended periods of time,” the Association of Flight Attendants said of United’s management in a memo shared to CNN on Monday.

In addition to problems with air traffic control staffing, the memo claimed, there are also hours-long hold times with crew schedulers.

“Because hold times are currently in excess of 3 hours as crew scheduling works to update crews in chronological order, we are working to find solutions to relieve some of the backlog,” the missive explained.

In response to the allegations, United said that “making sure [their] flight attendants can reach [them] quickly is a top priority.”

“We have deployed all available resources to catch up on call volume, including increasing staffing in crew scheduling and mandatory overtime on the scheduling team. We also have ways flight attendants can check in electronically for trips and schedule changes,” the statement to CNN read.

High-flying tension

The volley of reassurances from airlines and federal agencies is hardly enough to pacify the score of travelers whose plans have been disrupted or canceled entirely this week.

“My suitcase is checked to go to DC, so I have no clothes, toiletries. I finally gave up and booked a Greyhound to Toronto. I have no clue where I’m sleeping tonight, and I have no clothes. I need a hotel and a store so I can change clothes,” United passenger Paul Thacker told CNN of the multi-day ordeal that spun out of what should have been a simple connecting flight to Toronto from Newark Airport.

Thacker arrived at the New Jersey travel hub on Monday, only to find that his connection to Canada had been canceled. He slept on the floor of the airport when he was unable to find a hotel, he told the outlet.

Another passenger, Michelle Maciel, told CNN that she spent seven hours on hold trying to rebook a flight from Denver to Portland, Oregon after her original flight was canceled following multiple delays.

“I have no idea where my luggage is. There’s no one to ask unless I wait in another line for several hours. I can’t believe I’m 53 years old, I paid for a ticket and I slept on the ground. How is this OK with any of us?” she said.