Travelers Eye Flight Cancellations, Prepare For Problems With Summer Trips
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Flight frustrations were on the rise over the holiday weekend after airlines canceled thousands of trips across the country.
Airline representatives say the large number of nixed flights stems from weather and staffing issues.
The cancellations come just as summer travel is ramping up.
There have only been a few delays and cancellations at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
But the same cannot be said for people across the country who are trying to return home from their travels.
Lisa Kneckt and her husband were one of many people who encountered scrubbed flights.
"Our first flight was delayed," Kneckt, a Pennsylvania resident, said. "So we were worried about this one being delayed because we just want to get home already."
Airline companies say bad weather and staffing shortages contribute to the delays and flight cancellations.
Maddy Abbs of Florida said she had concerns about her travel plans too.
"We were on a cruise and we got messages saying Delta canceled, so we were a little worried that all of ours would be canceled as well," Abbs said.
The increase in delays and cancellations comes as TSA screened more than 2.4 million people at airport security checkpoints nationwide on Friday.
That's the highest number of travelers since the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2021.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is working with airline CEOs to try to find performance improvements ahead of the next travel surge, which is expected to occur over the Fourth of July weekend.
Experts are pushing passengers to buy trip insurance, especially with the soaring cost of airfares.
"I have about five or six trips planned within the next six to seven weeks and I'm getting a little nervous about that," Kneckt said.
