Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - This weekend was extra difficult for air travelers as flights continue to be delayed or cancelled. Sunday alone saw delays of 4,200 flights in the United States and 900 were cancelled according to FlightAware.
Why are there so many delays?
"There's been a lot of challenges," said Brian Murray, Director of Travel at AAA in Central and Westen New York.
"Capacity is at the max coming out of the pandemic and there is a clear pent-up demand for travel. The airlines with their scheduling and their flight crews, there's been challenges in staffing the flights. There's also been a lot of weather challenges that create a ripple effect. If there's a storm, for example, on the east coast in the New York area. Aircraft that fly cross country, if they're stuck in New York and can't get out, that creates a delay, possibly in Chicago or Denver or LA. They call that the ripple effect. Planes get stuck with weather that creates crew issues and aircraft positioning, so that's another issue and the fact is that there were a lot of retirements of flight crews during the pandemic and they worked very hard to get capacity back but the crew staffing has been definitely issues," Murray added.
Are flights going to continue to be cancelled? Murray says that could be likely.
"We have good weeks and we have challenging weeks. Weather can create a situation but no question, Airlines are preemptively canceling some flights out of their schedule. When they cancel those ahead of time, rebooking can happen a lot easier. It's the last minute cancellations that create issues. If a flight is canceled this afternoon, to New York City and every flight later today or in the morning is booked, you know you're rebooked on the next available flight, but if the airlines cancel a flight, for example, in the middle of July, there's an opportunity for a rebooking to happen a little bit easier," said Murray.
What should you do if you're booking a flight? Make sure you schedule enough time in case your trip gets delayed.
Travelers should really pack their patience. They should have the Airline app downloaded on their smartphone. Their reservation is stored in that app and they can access that. They'll get push notifications if there are delays or cancellations. They also have the opportunity with a canceled or delayed flight to rebook right from that app," said Murray.
"Get to the airport early. Ticket counter lines are longer because of check baggage. TSA is processing well but there are certain times a day when those lines do get longer. If people are planning a vacation that includes a cruise departure or a guided vacation departure, we really recommend going in a couple days early because if you're going in the same morning that a cruise ship is leaving port and you're not there, that cruise ship is going to leave the port. So extending that vacation a little bit to make sure you're there for the start of a guided vacation or cruise is really probably the order of traveling this summer for sure," Murray added.
