Thousands of flights had to be cancelled or delayed as severe storms hit the United States on June 26, 2023. To be precise, nearly 1,400 flights were cancelled in and out of the United States while more than 4,600 flights were delayed. Majority of the delays were around the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport which faced more than 200 flight delays. This marks 17 percent of its complete departing schedule and more than 180 incoming flights had to be delayed.
Apart from that the Newark Liberty International Airport that faced more than 370 incoming as well as outgoing flight delays. The United Airlines had faced the most cancellations out of the major airlines of the United States with more than 260. The airline also had to delay more than 600 flights. On the other hand Delta Air Lines faced the second most cancellations with more than 190 and 570 delays. Meanwhile JetBlue and Southwest had to cancel 100 flights each and American Airlines had to cancel more than 60 flights. Majority of the flights by American Airlines had to be delayed.
The flight delay problems on June 26, 2023 were followed by more than 1400 cancellations on June 25, 2023 with more than 9,800 delays. The flight disruptions were mostly due to severe thunderstorms in parts of Arkansas, the Ohio Valley, Mississippi and Tennessee on June 25, 2023. The storm also left more than 700,000 people without power. This was followed by a severe heat wave through Arizona and Louisiana.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned that this week’s flight issues was weather related but added that flight problems could become common due to the rollout of 5G network on July 1, 2023. This could happen as the aircrafts are not equipped with updated equipment and could not be allowed to land under poor visibility conditions. For the travellers who want to avoid cancellations or delays are advised to book early morning flights as they are likely to be on time.
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