A flurry of flight cancellations continues to overwhelm US travelers ahead of the fourth of July weekend, with United Airlines becoming the latest airline to announce the scrapping of 12% of its daily flights departing from its Newark hub.
Starting July 1, as many as 50 United flights will not take off from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) as scheduled. The main reasons behind this cancellation are airport construction and ATC issues, clarified United Airlines. It also believes that this move will help minimize delays and also improve on-time performance.
According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, a minimum of 800 flights were canceled across the United States on Monday, while the preceding weekend witnessed the cancellation of 1500 flights approximately. News reports noted that Monday’s cancellations had a huge impact on the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and Newark Liberty International Airport in New York City.
The summer travel season is facing a major setback due to flight delays and cancellations, mostly attributed to bad weather, severe staff shortage, and air traffic control constraints intended to regulate air traffic. Delta, Republic Airways, United, and American Airlines canceled the highest number of flights in the past few days, adding to the trials and tribulations of summer travel this year.
Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the 15 busiest airports in the United States, is a major hub for United Airlines, from where it operated more than 70 percent of its flights.
As travel is bouncing back, it seems that the airlines are bearing the brunt of the buyouts, early retirement packages, and other measures that they took to cut down the expenses during the pandemic.
Reportedly, United Airlines got approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for making changes to its Newark schedule for the rest of the summer travel season. However, the airline hopes to reinstate these 50 canceled departures as soon as possible.
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