United aircraft in Chicago
In the run-up to the Fourth of July holiday weekend, trying to get on a flight that hadn’t been delayed or cancelled was particularly difficult, especially in the New York metropolitan area due to lingering storms along major flight routes.
As of 5:30 p.m. EDT, there had been 5,101 delays on flights within, into, or out of the United States as well as an additional 1,609 cancellations. Worldwide, the situation was similar: There had been 23,464 flight delays along with 2,151 cancellations.
Airports in the Northeast of the United States saw the most delays and cancellations.
Thirty-seven percent of flights both into and out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport have been cancelled so far on Tuesday, while an additional 27% are experiencing departure delays.
Frequent flyers David and Louise Scwartyz were set to fly from Southwest Florida International Airport in Florida to LaGuardia. After their afternoon flight was delayed twice, airline officials were forced to cancel the flight and the couple was rebooked for Wednesday morning, although the two frequent flyers lost their upgrades to first as a result.
The delays are largely due to two major storm systems slowly moving up the East Coast.
From Newark Liberty International Airport, 28% of flights leaving the airport have been cancelled, with an additional 24% delayed, and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, 12% of outbound and 14% of inbound flights have been already cancelled, while an additional 24% of departing flights have been delayed.
Boston Logan International, O’Hare International, and Washington Ronald Reagan National airports are reporting similar, albeit slightly lower, figures.
Airlines with the greatest number of cancellations and delays include United Airlines, with 462 cancellations and an additional 978 delayed, JetBlue with 127 cancellations and an additional 405 flights delayed,
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
