Airlines canceled more than 3,300 U.S. flights and delayed thousands more this weekend, citing Florida weather and other issues.
FlightAware, a flight tracking website, found major disruptions at several Florida airports, including Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, as well as Baltimore and other airports across the country. According to FlightAware, JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines were the most affected. Local news reported storms in Florida on Saturday. Several airlines said on Sunday that operations are returning to normal.
The wave of cancellations arrived as air traffic recovers from the pandemic, with strong demand for spring break flights.
“Severe weather in the Southeast and multiple air traffic control delay programs have caused significant industry implications,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in an email. “Today’s cancellations will help us reset our operation and get our crews and aircraft safely back into position.”
Southwest Airlines also called Saturday in Florida “weather and airspace congestion” and a “tech problem.”
American said Saturday’s weather in Florida affected its operations and it was recovering today.
Alaska Airlines said its cancellations of weekend flights that began Friday affected more than 37,000 customers and said further cancellations were possible on Sunday. The airline declined to say why it was canceling flights, but referred to contract negotiations with its pilots in its statement. Off-duty pilots pecked in several US cities on Friday amid stalled negotiations. They have been without a new contract for three years.
“Alaska Airlines failed to properly plan for increased travel demand and take the necessary steps to ensure it attracted and retains pilots,” the pilots’ union said in a Friday press release.
People on social media complained about hours of waiting and queues to reschedule their canceled flights.
