Fourth of July Weekend Flight Cancellations, Pilot Protests

DALLAS - As the summer travel chaos persists, data from flight tracker Flight Aware shows major US airlines have canceled more than 1,000 flights over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

According to the data, American Airlines (AA) canceled the most flights this weekend with 183, followed by Delta Air Lines (DL) with 152 and United Airlines (UA) with 96. Further, some flights operating on Monday have also been canceled, as per the flight tracker.

Last month, an AA passenger had to wait nearly four hours for customer assistance and travel 45 minutes to the closest airport to rebook his flight. A spokeswoman for DL noted that canceling a flight is always the last choice and that the company truly regrets any inconvenience it may have caused its clients.

The airline claimed that it is also addressing the aggravating elements of bad weather and air traffic control delays.

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Pilot Strikes on Both Sides of the Pond

There is also the impact on the maximum number of hours that pilots and cabin personnel are permitted to work. Considering that some pilots across the US are on strike in an effort to negotiate salary raises, DL stated last week that it would allow its customers to rebook their flights for free over the Fourth of July weekend.

The airline told Business Insider that the sit-in would not have an impact on its timetable. But the US is not the only aviation market suffering air travel woes. Today, hundreds of flights out of different European airports were canceled or delayed as the industry battles ongoing labor strikes.

The USO and SICTPLA unions announced on Saturday that Ryanair (FR) cabin staff stationed in Spain intend to strike for 12 days this month in protest of poor working conditions, raising the possibility of travel mayhem as the summer tourist season begins.

In addition, ground staff at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in the French capital, Paris, announced on Saturday that they will go on strike once more to seek higher pay, which would cause more inconvenience for early summer travelers.

Featured image: American Eagle (SkyWest Airlines) N753EV Bombardier CRJ-700. Photo: Saul Hannibal/Airways