SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest times to travel throughout the year, and this year passengers were left frustrated with more than 2,500 flights across the U.S. being canceled.
The cancellations were caused by a number of factors, including bad weather, over-scheduling of flights, staffing shortages, and an increase in holiday travelers, according to airlines.
But, according to CBS News' Peter Greenberg, the issue goes far beyond just canceled flights, as the weekend created more problems for more travelers.
"The real problem wasn't just the flights that were canceled," Greenberg said. "The real problem was connecting flights. Because if the first flight was delayed, that's where people had real problems. They missed their connecting flights. There were no other options. They were stranded."
Upwards of 2.3 million people were scheduled to fly over the long weekend, returning travel patterns to what was seen before the days of the pandemic, quickly overwhelming some still understaffed airports.
But TSA staffing isn't the only issue plaguing the airline industry, as finding pilots for flights is also creating conflict.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stressed this on an earnings call in April, saying the shortage is not propaganda but a real issue that isn't going away soon.
"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," Kirby said.
Some airlines have begun looking elsewhere, like Australia, for pilots, while airlines like Delta are dropping some of their hiring requirements like the need for a four-year degree.
Either way, the culmination of issues resulted in 2,300 worldwide cancellations on Friday, 1,500 on Saturday, 1,640 on Sunday, and 1,644 on Monday, according to FlightAware.
But the problems didn't stop after Americans returned to work Tuesday, as there were another 1,231 cancellations worldwide.
Delta was a big culprit of cancellations over the holiday weekend, with more than 500 flights being cut on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, FlightAware reported.
With travel expected to return to some form of pre-pandemic normal this summer, airlines could be left scrambling to meet demands.
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