TAMPA, Fla. - Memorial Day weekend was projected to be a busy travel weekend, reaching pre-pandemic travel numbers as three million Americans were expected to take to the sky. But the weekend has turned into quite the headache for thousands of travelers, as hundreds of flights have been canceled with thousands more delayed.
Nearly 5,000 flights were delayed Sunday with another 500 completely canceled. It looks like Monday could be just as chaotic. By 7:30 a.m. Monday, nearly 450 U.S. flights were already delayed with 265 more canceled. Locally, Tampa International Airport was already reporting 11 cancelations and 9 delays.
American and Delta are the two airlines that have seen the most issues over the weekend, not only at TPA, but across the county in general. The airlines have blamed bad weather and air traffic control issues for some of the cancellations. However, they have also said they are still experiencing staffing issues in some areas, making it hard to keep up with the sudden increase in passengers.
As of Monday morning, many of the issues are stemming from Florida with some of the most delays and cancelations being reported from Miami. At Miami International Airport, at 7:30 a.m. they reported 70 cancelations and 25 delayed flights. 66 of their 70 cancelations are from American Airlines.
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