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A spate of flights were canceled and delayed on Wednesday, leaving passengers furious and in many cases waiting at airports for extended periods.
More than 1,900 flights to, from and across the United States were delayed as of 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
While still down from Tuesday, when the number of flight delays surpassed 4,500, FlightAware’s live numbers of flight delays and cancellations have been rising rapidly.
According to the data, as of 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, airlines have already canceled 550 flights across the country.
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traveler posted on social media that they have already been at the airport for 12 hours this week due to delays.
“Sitting at the airport trying to decide which is worse: a flight that gets canceled straight out and goes to a hotel for a full night’s sleep, or a late night at the airport with increasingly long delays but a glimmer of hope that you take off,” one user tweeted.
Ahead of the busy travel season, airlines have proactively canceled 15% of flights originally scheduled for June through August to make remaining flights more reliable, according to Airlines for America President Nicholas Calio.
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Calio said its member airlines have also “accelerated robust hiring and training programs across all areas, including flight crew, customer service representatives and airport staff, in addition to increasing salaries for many positions.”
According to Calio, airlines have also given passengers more flexibility to change their travel plans.
However, problems persist and many passengers are in a tight spot, especially during the long summer holidays, according to FlightAware data.
“Delta teams continue to come through safely factors affecting our business operations, This includes more than planned unplanned absences in some of our work groups, weather and air traffic control restrictions,” Delta Air Lines previously told FOX Business.
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Airlines struggled with inclement weather and labor shortages, particularly among pilots, leading to widespread cancellations over the Memorial Day holiday weekend that usually kicks off the summer travel season.
FlightAware spokeswoman Kathleen Bangs said delays averaged 21% over the long weekend. Meanwhile, cancellations hit as much as 4.7% on Friday this bank holiday weekend, Bangs added.
According to Bangs, the site also experienced “a series of delays and even higher cancellations” over Father’s Day and the June 16 bank holiday weekend. On Thursday and Friday this weekend, cancellations hit 6% and 5%, respectively, she said.
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The troubles didn’t ease as the next big summer vacation drew near.
Last weekend more than 18,000 flights were delayed from Friday to Sunday, according to FlightAware data. According to the data, every day 23% of all flights were delayed and about 3% were cancelled.
In a few days, over 47 million people are expected to travel for the 4th of July weekend. Over 3 million of them plan to fly.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.