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The crisis in the airline industry will continue over the July 4 holiday as thousands face delays and cancelations amid a staff shortage and picketing pilots.
On Thursday alone, 5,827 flights within, in or out of the United States have been delayed, while another 639 were canceled. This comes ahead of a holiday weekend, which is expected to see 3.5 million Americans fly according to AAA.
Not only are airports likely to be jammed, the roads will be back to normal despite continued high gas prices, with a record 42 million scheduled to drive this weekend.
Newark Liberty International Airport remains the most prolific in terms of cancelations with 49, while Denver International has the most delays at 349.
American Airlines canceled 8 percent of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and United Airlines scrubbed 4 percent of its schedule both days, according to FlightAware.
Travelers are already facing a difficult summer as airlines expect record demand while they rebuild staff to make up for the thousands of workers who left the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delta Air Lines took the unusual step this week of warning travelers that there could be problems over the holiday weekend. Delta had by far the most canceled flights of any U.S. airline over the Memorial Day holiday stretch, when U.S. carriers scrubbed nearly 2,800 flights, and again last weekend, when it canceled seven percent of flights.
American Airlines alone has delayed over 700 flights, but one pilot says that 88 percent are due to staff shortages and the delays are actually meant to spin the truth.
Southwest Airlines pilots picket outside the terminal at Dallas Love Field on Tuesday
Passengers at the Delta terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
On Thursday alone, 5,827 flights within, in or out of the United States have been delayed, while another 639 were canceled. This comes ahead of a holiday weekend, which is expected to see 3.5 million Americans fly according to AAA
Newark Liberty International Airport remains the most prolific in terms of cancelations with 49, while Denver International has the most delays at 349
Travelers are already facing a difficult summer as airlines expect record demand as they rebuild staff levels after thousands of workers left the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic
Delta Airlines pilots planned to start picketing on Thursday at several major airports including LAX, JFK and Atlanta, which are some of the most affected in terms of cancellations and delays
Travellers line up at the American Airlines counters in Logan Airport at the start of the long July 4th holiday weekend in Boston, Massachusetts
General view or travelers in JFK Terminal 4 in New York. KLM airlines is seen with long lines as people wait to check in
Travelers at John F. Kennedy Airport are forced to sit down and bear long delays while trying to get out for the holiday
At least one canceled flight is seen on Thursday at Boston Logan International Airport
Delta Airlines pilots planned to start picketing on Thursday at several major airports including LAX, JFK and Atlanta, which are some of the most affected in terms of cancellations and delays.
Dennis Tajer, active American Airlines pilot and the Communications Committee chairman for the Allied Pilots Association, claims AA is delaying flights 24 hours instead of canceling to make the cancelation numbers appear lower.
He noted that any flight delayed by 24 hours is essentially a stand-in for a canceled flight.
‘American Airlines is claiming that they have the pilots to fly the summer schedule. They’ve said that they have a training backlog, but we’re good,’ Tajer said.
‘We don’t believe them. Based on our numbers, they do not have the pilots and staffing to get this done. We’re warned them for months and month. This is a broken record, the needle is skipping on the same groove of the vinyl.’
Over 750,000 passengers have had their flights impacted in the month of June on American Airlines alone, with 75,000 just in the past two days.
2022 Delta Pilots hold a organized protest at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City
Pilots have a long and arduous process toward any strike action so many are protesting and walking picket lines on days off
Delta Airlines pilots planned to start picketing on Thursday at several major airports, including LAX, JFK and Atlanta, which are some of the most affected in terms of cancellations and delays
Pilots are given a guide to picketing at JFK Airport in new York City on Thursday
American Airlines alone has delayed over 700 flights, but one pilot says the delays are actually meant to spin the truth
Dennis Tajer, active American Airlines pilot and the Communications Committee chairman for the Allied Pilots Association, claims AA is delaying flights 24 hours instead of canceling to make the cancelation numbers appear lower
‘The house is on fire. We have buckets of water and they’ve told us not to move,’ said Tajer, who claims that solutions exist to better utilize pilots and let them work overtime, but American refuses.
‘What’s even worse we have solutions to better utilize us. We’ve told them for the last two summers, but they’re not interested.’
American Airlines didn’t respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
In addition, the Biden administration is blaming the airlines, saying it received billions in stimulus money to keep afloat during the pandemic and should stick to the schedule it publishes.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this month that airlines had until July 4 to figure out the issues and work out the kinks so travelers can have a smooth summer holiday.
Buttigieg pushed back earlier this week when the head of the trade group Airlines for America blamed the FAA for delays.
‘The majority of cancellations and the majority of delays have nothing to do with air traffic control staffing,’ Buttigieg told ‘NBC Nightly News.’
Sen. Bernie Sanders demanded Washington fine airlines $55,000 per passenger for every flight cancellation they know can’t be fully staffed.
‘The American people are sick of airlines ripping them off, canceling flights at the last minute and delaying flights for hours on end,’ he said.
Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked 10 airline CEOs this week to ‘take immediate action’ to reduce travel disruptions. The senators demanded information about how each airline decides which flights to cancel and the number of consumer refunds requested and granted.
Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders demanded Washington fine airlines $55,000 per passenger for every flight cancellation they know can’t be fully staffed
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this month that airlines had until July 4 to figure out the issues and work out the kinks so travelers can have a smooth summer holiday
United Airlines will cut about 50 flights a day out of Newark in an attempt to reduce long delays that the airline blames on airport construction and other issues.
The cuts – about 12 percent of United flights in Newark – will start July 1 and last the rest of the summer. United is the main airline of Newark Liberty International Airport, which is just across the Hudson River from New York City, and gets heavy use from people living in and around the city.
Only domestic flights will be reduced, a United spokeswoman said Thursday, adding that United will not drop any destinations from Newark. The airline got a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce flights, she said.
Two weeks ago, Buttigieg called the chief executives of major U.S. airlines to a virtual meeting to discuss thousands of recent flight cancellations and delays over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. He urged airlines to ensure they can reliably operate planned summer schedules.
Delays and cancelations cost airlines a hefty sum, with delays costing airlines around $74 a minute, or $4,500 an hour.
Defying tarmac delay rules means airlines are charged $27,500 per passenger, meaning one plane with 200 passengers could cost a $5.5 million fine.
For passengers, delays can cost about $47 of their time. In 2018, before the pandemic, delays and cancellations cost passengers almost $28 billion.
Airlines are not required by law to compensate passengers for a cancellation or delay.
Passengers have taken to social media to complain about how the delays and cancellations affected them, with many claiming they are ‘nervous to fly.’
A record 42 million people around the United States are expected to hit the road for trips over the Fourth of July holiday weekend despite average gas price surging close to $5 per gallon.
The average U.S. retail price of gasoline recently broke through $5 per gallon for the first time in history, AAA said Tuesday. It is gone down slightly and is now averaging about $4.96.
While the $5 price is not record from an inflation-adjusted basis, it still represents an increase of nearly $2 per gallon from a year earlier. Despite the higher cost, gasoline demand is only 1 percent below the average for this time of year in the United States.
The 42 million figure, should it pan out, would surpass 2019’s peak, when 41.5 million people traveled by vehicle on Independence Day, according to the American Automobile Association.
Including air travel, 47.9 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday period, just 2 percent less than 2019’s 49 million, but surpassing 2021’s levels, the travel membership organization said.
The average U.S. retail price of gasoline recently broke through $5 per gallon for the first time in history, AAA said Tuesday. The current average is $4.96
Researchers argued in a 2021 report that congestion has been building in the US month-by-month since the pandemic (Pictured: Philadelphia rush hour traffic in April 2019)
A graph shows a steep drop in traffic during the pandemic and the steady increase in 2021
‘The volume of travelers we expect to see over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear,’ said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. ‘Earlier this year, we started seeing the demand for travel increase and it´s not tapering off.’
Through April 2022, 1.017 trillion vehicle miles were reported, a rate that trails only 2019 and 2018 in terms of pace, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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