Over 9,000 weekend flights delayed in Florida

Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed this weekend as thunderstorms hit Florida during spring break, one of the busiest travel seasons for the state. 

The bad weather in the Sunshine State began causing delays and cancelations on Saturday, and thunderstorms continued throughout Sunday.

On Saturday, more than 6,000 flights were delayed and 1,930 were canceled, according to FlightAware. Similarly, around 1,540 flights were canceled on Sunday, and about 3,000 were delayed.  

“Severe weather in the Southeast and multiple air traffic control delay programs have created significant impacts on the industry,” a JetBlue spokesperson said. “Today’s cancellations will help us reset our operation and safely move our crews and aircraft back in to position.”

Over the weekend, air traffic controllers from Orlando International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Tampa International Airport, paused incoming flights. Affected airlines included American Airlines, Spirit, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Southwest, JetBlue, and Delta. 

“Yesterday’s weather in around Florida and resulting [air traffic control] initiatives impacted our operations with most northbound and southbound routes through and to Florida affected,” American Airlines said in a statement. 

American Airlines saw more than 65,000 customers affected by the weather, with 363 affected flights on Saturday and 500 on Sunday. 

Southwest Airlines canceled 14 percent of its Saturday flights, and 43 percent of its flights were delayed. Southwest canceled 10 percent of its scheduled flights and delayed 25 percent on Sunday. 

Delta delayed around 238 flights canceled on Saturday. On Sunday, the airline had 41 canceled flights and 366 delayed.