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‘Most challenging’: 4th of July US travel chaos, thousands of flights cancelled
Fourth Of July: Data from the Transportation security administration showed that Sunday saw the highest number of US airport passengers ever.
US airports witnessed extreme travel chaos on the eve of Independence Day, as more than 100 million Americans were under extreme weather warnings. More than 3,000 flights were delayed or cancelled within, into, or out of the US on Monday itself, BBC reported citing FlightAware. Data from the Transportation security administration showed that Sunday saw the highest number of US airport passengers ever.
Carrier United Airlines remained the worst affected by the delays, accounting for over 300 postponed flights, data from the FlightAware website showed. More than 5,000 delays and cancellations over the past week- were registered by the carrier. In a letter to employees, chief executive Scott Kirby said that thunderstorms created an “extended limited operating environment”, adding that the situation was “one of the most operationally challenging weeks I've experienced in my entire career.”
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The airline said it would compensate customers worst hit by the travel chaos with 30,000 frequent flier miles. This comes as storms threatened eastern US while an unusual heatwave was experienced in the south and west US.
Secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg said that US travel had been "so chaotic" because of severe weather which "put enormous pressure on the system".
Thunderstorms were forecast on Monday across the east from Mississippi to Massachusetts, as well as in Montana and Minnesota. The heatwave across the US south will also continue, it was forecasted. More than 150,000 residents in the US Midwest were still without electricity after storms over the weekend.
