A Delta Airlines commercial aircraft is approaching to land at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California on January 18, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Flight interruptions continued on Sunday, but declined from the difficult start to Memorial Day weekend, a test for carriers as they prepare for an intense summer travel season after more than two years of pandemic of Covid.
Delta Air Lines led the cancellations, the interruptions it attributed to bad weather and the “air traffic control actions” on Saturday. Hundreds of flights operated by Republic Airways, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines were also delayed on Saturday.
Delta canceled 254 mainline flights, or 9% of its program on Saturday, and 530 were delayed, nearly a fifth of its program, according to FlightAware flight tracking site. On Sunday, it canceled 153 flights, 5%, while delays amounted to 162, or 6% of the schedule.
Delta said 87% of customers re-booked on flights that departed within 11 hours of the original time.
The Atlanta-based company said last week that it would reduce its schedule by 100 flights a day between July 1 and August 7, by about 2%, to give itself more leeway. to handle interruptions.
Other airlines, such as Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, have also reduced their schedules to better manage disruptions such as bad weather and staff shortages.
Achieving the right balance is key for carriers, as bookings have recently risen despite air fares that have exceeded pre-pandemic levels.