Widespread collapse at US airports: flights cancelled and delayed due to weather and lack of personnel

Thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled this week due to bad weather and staffing shortages in both airline and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control operations.

A large number of flight problems began to accumulate over the past weekend. According to FlightAware, the flight tracker, nearly 2,000 U.S. flights were affected over Saturday and Sunday, and the situation only worsened. On Monday, more than 11,000 flights in the country were delayed or canceled; on Tuesday, at least 7,300.

By Wednesday, the situation seemed to level off, but it remains complex. As of at least 2:44 p.m. EST, nearly 850 flights were canceled, and some 3,500 were delayed.

Bad weather

One of the factors behind the problems with flights has been the bad weather, as storms have lingered in the northeast of the country, and forecasts suggest that this will continue for a few more days.

Travel is also being affected by visibility problems caused by smoke from wildfires in Canada.

Shortage of personnel

The lack of personnel does not help to improve the situation either, especially the shortage of workers in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as explained by Zach Griff, a reporter from The Points Guy, “When thunderstorms hit, it’s up to controllers to recalibrate the air network, and it’s taking longer because they’re understaffed.”

“I’m... frustrated that the FAA frankly failed us this weekend,” said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, noting that about 150,000 customers were affected by “FAA staffing issues and their ability to manage traffic.”