The sky isn't just in Europe. In recent days, hundreds of flights across the Atlantic had to be cancelled. This is a blow to the many Americans who wanted their families to celebrate this holiday.
Due to staffing issues, hundreds of flights have been cancelled by airlines in the United States. Flightaware.com reports that at least 600 flights were unable to operate on Saturday while almost 3,100 other flights were delayed. According to flightaware.com, Friday's 587 flights were canceled out of a total 3,060 worldwide. There were nearly 8,000 delays.
In France, 150 flights out of 1,300 were canceled on Saturday at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, the French airport most affected by a social conflict over wages and working conditions within Groupe ADP. Ryanair and EasyJet cabin crews also struck out, disrupting air traffic.
The setbacks suffered by American passengers are a common trend, just like in France. American airlines employ 15% less people than they did before the pandemic. They have difficulty managing the huge return of passengers to their planes. The sector's companies claim they are trying to fix the problem by intensifying their recruitment campaigns for pilots, and other personnel, and decreasing the number of passengers.
Officials from the aviation industry mention other aggravating factors, such as climatic or due Covid. On Saturday, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reminded passengers via Twitter that cancellations are eligible for a refund.
On Thursday, Delta Airlines pilots demonstrated to demand that wages be increased in proportion to overtime hours worked. It's simply irresponsible for us to book too many flights. Jason Ambrosi (a union representative) said that after the pandemic, it was more important to plan flights than there are people to fly them.
However, massive cancellations have not stopped travelers thronging the airports. The Transportation Security Agency (TSA), which estimates that nearly 2.5 million passengers were checked on Friday, said the agency that this was the first time the check count has been "back to pre-pandemic volumes". This is a remarkable figure considering that 42 million Americans had to travel by vehicle during the weekend of celebrations, which was a record.
