Summer travel season off to a rough start amid flight cancellations and delays

HOUSTON – With the Fourth of July just two days away, airports across the country are dealing with flight delays and cancellations.

Triple A is expecting nearly 4.2 million people will catch a flight. At Bush Intercontinental Airport, flight delays and cancellations are leaving many travelers frustrated.

“It could be worse but right now, we are delayed so right now I’m moving my stuff around so what else can I do?” Nykkiesha Star asked.

Star is hoping Mother Nature won’t cause any disruptions on her flight to Miami.

“It was supposed to leave around 5:30 p.m. and now we are leaving at 7 p.m. I don’t know what’s going on. I keep getting an email every 30 minutes saying it’s delayed for another 30 minutes,” Star said.

One traveler told KPRC 2 he had issues at the airport in Miami.

“We got to the airport at like 6 a.m. and the flight was supposed to be at 9 a.m. It (was) delayed until 1 o’clock so we stayed in the airport until one. I didn’t really like it,” Max said.

From Mother Nature to air quality issues and staffing shortages, tens of thousands of people have been affected by cancellations and delays.

According to Flight Aware, over 300 flights have been delayed at Bush and nearly 30 were cancelled. Over at Hobby Airport, close to 90 flights were delayed with no cancellations.

On top of the holiday travel chaos, some travelers are dealing with other issues.

“I already know IAH is a very busy airport. I’m from Houston and I’ve always flown out of this airport but the customer service and dealing with the business is just crazy. I feel like they need to have better efficiency and a better process to get people in and out of what’s going on right now,” Brittany Smith said.

If you plan on traveling Monday or Tuesday, arrive at the airport at least two hours early and reserve your parking online.


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