Flight disruptions increased on Tuesday as severe storms and staffing problems ushered in a rocky start to the summer.
About 3,000 US flights were delayed as of Tuesday afternoon and another 1,100 were canceled as thunderstorms derailed thousands of trips over the weekend. That’s on top of more than 8,800 U.S. delays and 2,246 cancellations on Monday.
The disruptions come on the busy holiday travel period of July 4, when millions are expected to fly. The Transportation Security Administration said it could screen more travelers than it did in 2019, before the pandemic, increasing competition for spare seats.
The Biden administration has been pressuring airlines to improve operations after widespread flight disruptions last spring and summer that led airlines to cut back on overambitious schedules. But the industry struggled to recover from a string of thunderstorms that lasted for days over the weekend.
Thunderstorms are difficult for airlines because they can form with less warning than other major weather hazards such as winter storms or hurricanes. Progressive delays could force crews to meet federally mandated workday limits and further exacerbate disruptions.
Some airline executives have also attributed some disruptions to a shortage of air traffic controllers.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told staff on Monday that “the FAA flat out let us down this weekend.” He said during Saturday’s storms, the FAA slashed arrivals by 40% and departures by 75% at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, one of the airline’s largest hubs.
“It led to massive delays, cancellations, diversions, as well as crews and aircraft out of position,” Kirby wrote in a staff note, which was viewed by CNBC. “And that put everyone behind the eighth ball when the weather really hit on Sunday and was compounded by FAA staff shortages on Sunday night.”
An FAA spokesperson said in a statement: “We will always work with anyone who is seriously willing to join us in solving a problem.”
The workforce challenges are not new. The Covid-19 pandemic has derailed the hiring and training of new air traffic controllers, and the agency is now trying to catch up.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation said in a report last week that staff shortages in air traffic control are endangering air traffic operations. In March, the FAA and some airlines agreed to cut flights to ease congestion at New York’s busy airports due to staffing issues.
But the problems persist at a time when airlines are preparing crews and schedules for a busy summer season fueled by continued demand for travel.
And the disruptions frustrated flight crews waiting for redeployments.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents flight attendants at United and others, said in a memo to members Monday that crew scheduling wait times exceeded three hours.
“There is an absolute recognition by Union leaders and Inflight Management that something must be done to permanently address these adverse situations resulting from irregular operations,” the union said.
In response to the union’s memo, United said it “has deployed all available resources to catch up on call volume, including more staff in crew scheduling and mandatory overtime on the scheduling team.”
Based in New York JetBlue Airways also faced high levels of flight delays in recent days and acknowledged it can improve the way it handles disruptions in a letter to crew members on Monday, which was reviewed by CNBC.
Don Uselmann, vice president of inflight experience at JetBlue, said the airline could have updated crew reporting times more efficiently so staff wouldn’t wait for flights and reduced wait times for hotel assignments.
“Summer peak has officially begun, and extreme weather conditions, air traffic control network staffing restrictions and resulting delays will test all airlines,” he said in his note. “From this weekend [irregular operation] won’t be our last, but the combination of events put the operation under acute pressure and made it more challenging than most.”