Travel misery continues in the U.S. with 700 flights axed today....

Photo by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash

Travel misery for thousands of U.S. air passengers today as airlines cancelled hundreds of flights due to a lack of staff. As many as 700 flights have been axed at various airports throughout the United States and the disruption is likely to continue well into the week according to experts.

Delta Air Lines had to axe nearly 200 flights, United cancelled over 113 flights, whereas American Airlines cancelled 51 flights, and Republic Airlines dropped 100 flights, with many other flights suffering heavy delays.

Many expect the mass disruption to effect the travel plans of hundreds of thousands in the run-up to the 4th July celebrations. The airline industry is blaming the regulator and the regulator is blaming the airlines.  Airlines 4 America President Nicholas Calio claimed, “The industry is actively and nimbly doing everything possible to create a positive customer experience since it is in an airline’s inherent interest to keep customers happy, so they return for future business. However, we have also observed that FAA (air traffic control) staffing challenges have led to traffic restrictions under blue sky conditions."

The FAA said:   "People expect when they buy an airline ticket that they’ll get where they need to go safely, efficiently, reliably and affordably. After receiving $54B in pandemic relief to help save the airlines from mass layoffs and bankruptcy, the American people deserve to have their expectations met."

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