Flight cancellations begin on Memorial Day weekend

More than 1,300 flights have been canceled as of Saturday afternoon, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAwareafter 2,300 cancellations on Friday.

Delta Airlines (DA) Hardest hit by the cancellations, more than 240 flights, or 9% of their operations, were canceled on Saturday. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, where Delta is headquartered and has its largest hub, is severely affected by travel obstacles.

On Thursday, Delta announced that it will be reducing its summer flight schedule before Memorial Day weekend. From July 1 to August 7, the airline said it will cut about 100 daily flights primarily in the United States and Latin America.

“More than at any time in our history, the various factors currently affecting our operations — weather and air traffic control, vendor personnel, increased COVID case rates contributing to higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some workgroups — are leading to a consistently understaffed operation. to the standards that Delta has set for the industry in recent years,” Chief Customer Experience Officer Alison Ugend said in an online post.

The airlines also proactively canceled nearly 250 flights on Monday. Delta trapped 82 so far.

Delta said it expects about 2.5 million passengers to travel over the weekend — a 25% increase from last year. AAA estimated that 3 million Americans will travel by air over Memorial Day weekend.

Separately, JetBlue said it will cut 8% to 10% of its summer schedule. Alaska Airlines reduced its schedule by about 2% through June to match ‘pilot capacity.

CNN’s Marnie Hunter contributed to this report.