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More than 1,300 flights were canceled as of 11:30 a.m. yesterday. /AP
Thousands of flights around the world had been canceled as of midday Sunday, adding to the growing number of flights suspended during the busy US Memorial Day weekend. The United States, which marks the start of the summer travel season.
More than 1,300 flights were canceled by 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, after more than 2,300 cancellations on Friday and another 1,500 on Saturday.
More than 250 of Sunday’s cancellations involved planes scheduled for fly to or from US cities.
Delta Air Lines registered Saturday the highest number of canceled flights among US airlines with more than 250, or 9% of its operations. More than 140 other Delta flights had been canceled as of noon Sunday, according to FlightAware.
Saturday’s cancellations were due to bad weather and “air traffic control actions,” he explained. Atlanta-based Delta in an email to The Associated Press. He pointed that he was trying to cancel flights at least 24 hours before the week of Memorial Day weekend. Delta announced Thursday on its website that from July 1 to August 7 it could reduce its service by about 100 daily departures, mainly in parts of the United States and Latin America where it flies frequently.
“More than at any other time in our history, the various factors currently affecting our operation – weather and air traffic control, sales staff, increased case rates COVID events that have contributed to higher-than-considered unplanned absences in some work groups— they are resulting in an operation that is inconsistent with the standards set by Delta in the sector in recent years,” in a social media post Allison Ausband, Delta’s Customer Service Officer.
Airlines and tourist destinations anticipate huge crowds this summer due to the slowdown. of travel restrictions and pandemic fatigue, which has overshadowed lingering fears of contracting Covid-19 while traveling. Many industry specialists believe that the number of travelers will equal. or even exceed pre-pandemic levels. Airlines have thousands fewer employees than in 2019 and that has contributed to cancellations.
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Very Expensive
People who are booking travel for the summer have experienced the shock of much higher prices.
Domestic Airline Summer Fares they average more than $400 round trip, 24% more than in 2019.