Business
Travel troubles continue on Monday as nearly 6,000 U.S. flights cancelled or delayed
As of 1 p.m. ET on Monday, more than 2,600 U.S. flights have already been cancelled and 3,200 have been delayed
January 3, 2022 1:52pm
Updated: January 3, 2022 1:52pm
Although the holiday travel season has concluded for most Americans, chaos continues to reign at airports across the United States.
As of 1 p.m. ET on Monday, more than 2,600 U.S. flights have already been cancelled and 3,200 have been delayed, according to data from FlightAware.
It is not only airline staff shortages due to COVID-19 that is to blame this time; the winter storm that buried the Midwest over the weekend slammed the East Coast on Monday morning – causing still more troubles for travelers, USA Today reported.
A ground stop has also been declared at both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport due to snow or ice, according to the FAA.
New Year’s weekend, however, was the worst two-day stretch for travelers over the holiday season and more than 5,400 flights were cancelled, with more than 17,000 delays also reported.
“It was absolute mayhem,” said Natasha Enos, who was forced to spend the night at Denver International Airport this weekend.
Enos, who was traveling on Frontier Airlines, didn’t become aware that her connecting flight home to California was cancelled until after she landed in Denver. She then had to join a mass of frustrated travelers in navigating baggage claims and rebooking at already overwhelmed ticketing counters.
“It was a lot of people in a very small space and not everybody was masking,” said the 28-year-old financial analyst. “There were a lot of exhausted kids and some families were so stressed out.”
In an attempt to prevent further cancellations or delays due to staff calling in sick, many airlines have stated that they will take steps to keep planes in the air. United, for example, has offered to pay their pilots up to three times their usual wages if they pick up open flights through most of January.
Similarly, Spirit Airlines reached a deal with the Association of Flight Attendants, agreeing to pay cabin crews double their regular wages through Tuesday, a union spokesperson reported.
