Chicago airports expecting nearly 1.5 million travelers for July 4 weekend
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Nearly 1.5 million people are expected to travel through Chicago airports for the July 4 weekend.
Travel numbers are up by just over 2% at Midway Airport for this weekend compared to last year. O'Hare is seeing a slight decrease of about 2%.
With summer travel in full swing, O’Hare and @fly2midway are prepared to welcome 1.49 million passengers between June 30 and July 5 for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, based on airline projections. Here are some tips to make your travel easier 🧵 https://t.co/yh37S8GoPV pic.twitter.com/bWP7aIvXNe
— O'Hare Intl. Airport (@fly2ohare) June 29, 2023
O'Hare officials are expecting about 230,000 passengers and Friday is expected to be the busiest day. Midway's busiest day is projected to be Saturday July 1. They're looking at almost 60,000 travelers passing through.
"We're very excited that passengers are back," Karen Pride, with the Chicago Department of Aviation, said. "We had much higher numbers for Memorial Day Weekend."
The busy travel weekend comes as United Airlines is seeing major delays and cancellations. Airlines overall this week are seeing up to 8,000 canceled flights and another 42,750 flights delayed because of severe weather and staffing issues since Saturday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
United Airlines has seen the highest number of cancellations, and United's CEO has blamed the issues mostly on the FAA and a lack of staffing at air traffic control centers.
In recent months, the FAA has struggled to carry out its duties due to staff shortages. In March, the FAA issued a notice warning that an air traffic controller shortage at its New York facility could disrupt summer travel. According to that notice, the agency had reached just 54% of its staffing goal for certified professional controllers at that location — far below the national average. Workers at the facility provide air traffic services for John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the FAA.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told his employees he will work in tandem with the FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to prevent a similar situation from disrupting travel this summer, according to the email. However, he stressed that the responsibility to remedy the FAA's issues lies with the agency itself.
"It's not the fault of the current FAA leadership that they are in this seriously understaffed position. It's been building up for a long time before they were in charge," Kirby wrote. "But, it is incumbent on them now to lead and take action to minimize the impact."