United Airlines’ operational resilience was tested Friday as it struggled to recover from a week of flight delays and cancellations as people headed to airports ahead of the busy 4th of July holiday.
The airline troubles started last weekend in the New York area. At the time, United claimed thunderstorms and an understaffed federal air traffic control facility as the cause of the disruption. Other airlines were also experiencing flight delays and cancellations at the time, but by Wednesday, the problem had become more pronounced as United’s problems spread to flights across the country.
Things seemed to improve somewhat on Thursday. United Airlines cut about 18% of its schedule after canceling about a quarter of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to flight-tracking company FlightAware. Still, United canceled more than 520 flights on Thursday, more than any other airline. SkyWest Airlines, which operates flights for United and several other major airlines, came in second, with just over 100 flights canceled.
The airline said it is closely monitoring weather at its two hubs, Denver and Chicago, and hopes to see fewer last-minute cancellations. As of mid-morning Friday, United canceled more than 200 flights, or 7% of its schedule for the day, according to FlightAware. Another 280 flights were delayed.
United Airlines said in a statement Thursday afternoon that “meaningful improvements continue today as a result of overnight efforts to further restore schedules and align dispersed crews with the aircraft.” “As recovery progresses, delays and cancellations will continue to decline heading into what is expected to be a very busy weekend.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg named the airline on Twitter On Friday morning, other airlines noted that they had recovered from the bad weather earlier in the week.
The disruption comes at a time when air travel is at its busiest in years. The Transportation Security Administration reported it tested more than 2.7 million people at airport checkpoints on Thursday, one of the busiest days since 2019. Since the start of the pandemic, there have only been four other busier days, all in recent weeks. AAA, Travel Club, said i was expecting Nearly 4.2 million people flew this weekend, up 6.6% from 2019.
All week long, United passengers reported having to sleep at the airport and queue for hours to rebook flights. Some travelers said they had to wait days to retrieve their checked bags.
The confusion has also frustrated pilots and flight attendants. After flights were cancelled, many had to wait hours before being reassigned. Some flight attendants were also sleeping at the airport, according to social media posts. Complaints from airline employees echo the same complaints from flight attendants and pilots during Southwest Airlines’ larger operational meltdown around Christmas.
“While the weather last weekend affected everyone, United continues to struggle to recover,” said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the Flight Attendants Association (CWA), which represents United’s more than 25,000 flight attendants. We’re the only airline that’s doing it, and we know why.” in a statement Thursday. “United Airlines’ management’s failure to properly staff its flight attendant scheduler, flight attendant support team, etc., exacerbates these operational problems, leaving passengers and flight attendants waiting for answers for hours at a time. Became.”
Diaz said United Airlines “lost” crew members in the system for several days due to the malfunction. He also said that while unions had warned management last year of problems that could cause further disruption, the airline has “charged” with ambitious schedules this summer. Diaz said United Airlines has tried to weather the current turmoil by changing schedules and agreeing to pay flight attendants three times their normal salaries for transfers through July 6. He said he used some of the union’s recommendations.
Pilots have expressed similar frustrations.
“It is United’s management that ignores red flags, fails to plan properly and fails to meet the expectations of its loyal customers,” said Capt. Garth Thompson, president of the United chapter of the Airline Pilots Association. The pilots said in a statement.
