The number of air travelers could set a pandemic-era record over the holiday weekend. The FAA expects Thursday to be the busiest, with more than 52,500 total flights.
Travelers are getting hit with delays at U.S. airports again Wednesday, an ominous sign heading into the long July 4 holiday weekend, which is shaping up as the biggest test yet for airlines that are struggling to keep up with surging numbers of passengers.
As of mid-morning on the East Coast, about 2,000 U.S. flights had been delayed and more than 700 canceled, according to FlightAware.
The worst disruptions continued to be along the East Coast, which has been pummeled by thunderstorms. The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded flights going to all three major airports in the New York City area Tuesday night after holding up flights heading to Reagan Washington National and Baltimore-Washington airports near the nation’s capital earlier in the day.
Huge crowds, bad weather, inability of some airline crews to reach their scheduling offices — even a Delta jet that made a belly landing in Charlotte, North Carolina — have all contributed to the mess.
And it could be just the storm before the storm: The FAA predicted that Thursday would be the heaviest travel day over the July 4 holiday period. On top of that, some airline planes today!
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