By midmorning in the eastern U.S., airlines had scrubbed more than 1,000 flights after canceling more than 1,700 on Thursday.
With a record number of air travelers expected this summer, airlines are facing staffing issues amid increasing demand, leading to canceled flights, long delays and frazzled customers.
On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a virtual meeting with airline CEOs to go over steps the airlines are taking to operate smoothly over the July 4 holiday and the rest of the summer, and to improve accommodation of passengers who get stranded when flights are canceled.that typically kicks off the summer travel season, airlines struggled with bad weather and shortages of workers, especially pilots, leading to cancellations.
So far in June, more than 2.2 million travelers a day on average have gone through security checkpoints at U.S. airports. That's down 13% from the same period before the pandemic.