Flight Cancellations, Staff Shortages Indicate Rough Summer Travel Season
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Just as the summer travel season is heating up, passengers are getting a tough reminder that things may not go as planned.
According to Flight Aware, about 1700 flights were canceled Thursday and by mid-day Friday there were another one thousand cancellations.
The majority of the issues were on the east coast, and the problems were attributed to extreme weather that affected some eastern seaboard states.
According to CBS News, many cancelations were in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Metropolitan New York region and Reagan Washington National in Washington, D.C.
There were also images of planes lined up on the runway at Boston Logan International Airport.
There were mass cancellations on Memorial Day weekend and now just weeks away from the Fourth of July celebrations, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with airline CEOs this week to get reassurances that they can handle the increased volume.
According to CBS News, an average of more than 2 million people have gone through checkpoints each day in June. The figure is lower than pre-pandemic levels, but it's rising.
CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg expresses concerns that airlines are ready to handle the summer travel season.
"We're still at an infrastructure that can't handle the load whether it's airlines, airports or just staffing. Before the airlines claimed it was a weather issue, then they claimed it was staff shortages, then they tried to cut the number of flights - that didn't work," said Greenberg. "Expect more crowded skies in terms of the number of people on your plane, fewer flights and higher fares. Not a lot of good news to report."
"Most of the travelers that we're going to be seeing this summer are going to be kind of rusty," said Chris Murgia, the federal security director for Maryland.
TSA is expecting long lines and passengers who may have forgotten the routine of traveling. The agency and other security officials are reminding travelers about the basics like declaring firearms with the airline you're traveling with and then placing the weapons in your checked luggage and not carry-on bags.
Just as people are flying again, they are getting a rude awakening of being stuck during transfers or not being able to take off on their first leg.
"A lot of delays and then reversals of delays. It's a mess right now definitely," said Ryan Warren.
And for traveler Joe Tiller, who found out his flight was canceled when he arrived at the airport, his sole priority is to get home.
"I got a lot going on, I got to get home, my son has a surgery next week, so trying to get home. Frustrated, but we will get there," says Tiller.