Major airports across the United States had to cancel or delay flights on Tuesday night because of bad weather. This caused a lot of travel plans to be messed up. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that some big airports, like John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Newark Liberty in New Jersey, Baltimore/Washington International, Ronald Reagan Washington National, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, might have to stop flying for a little while. Strong thunderstorms that swept over most of the country triggered these halt in operations. They grounded flights and backed up air traffic in key places.
The difficulties happened at both LaGuardia Airport in New York and Philadelphia International Airport. There were huge delays on the ground at both airports, and they were expected to last until Tuesday night. Flights at JFK and Newark were put on hold for at least an hour, until 5:15 p.m. ET. Flights had to be canceled at Baltimore and Washington, D.C. airports until 5:30 p.m. The FAA reported that there were delays all night long. People who were departing JFK had to wait for more over two hours on average, while people who were leaving LaGuardia had to wait for about an hour and a half. Travelers from Newark were hit the hardest, with delays that lasted more than three hours on average.
Flights to Dallas/Fort Worth couldn’t take off until after 9 p.m. According to officials from the FAA, a lot of the delays and cancellations could linger until Wednesday, July 9. Just over a week ago, on June 30, a massive storm system on the East Coast caused thousands of flights to be canceled. This was the second big weather-related delay in that time.
Denver International Airport also saw thunderstorms, which caused even more flights to be canceled. The FAA reported that Dulles International Airport in Virginia was now one of the airports with the longest delays. It was unlikely that flights will start up again before 5:30 p.m. ET. More than 1,100 flights had been canceled by the U.S. by 5 p.m. Tuesday. More than 30 minutes late were several of the more than 26,000 aircraft. The situation left people detained on runways or waiting at terminals with not much information at a number of airports.
As the delays carried on, passengers were getting more and more upset. A person who was traveling tweeted that they were stuck on a taxiway at LaGuardia after getting on a plane to Dallas. Then they found out that there was a ground halt that might continue another hour without any new information. The fear grew even more because some airlines weren’t very clear about what was going on.
If your flight is delayed or canceled, travel experts say you should act right away. Jesse Neugarten, who established the Dollar Flight Club, said that people should check their airline’s app or website often because that’s where rebooking chances usually come up first. You might be able to rebook immediately through the app without having to talk to an agent in some cases.
If you can’t reach the main U.S. customer service line, Neugarten suggested calling the same airline’s international assistance numbers, such as those in Canada or the UK. There are normally shorter wait times there, and agents may still be able to help you rebook. When more and more customers are looking for different flights, acting promptly can make a major impact.
Travelers will have a harder time in the next few days, according to the weather reports. AccuWeather reports that Texas might see more flash floods on Wednesday. This might make it hard to get around in places like Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. In the meantime, states in the Mid-Atlantic, such Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas, are expected to see very bad thunderstorms. Heavy rain later this week could make flights in the Northeast, which includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., a lot worse.
During the busy summer months, flying is already hard enough. These ongoing weather issues are a strong sign for travelers to be flexible, keep an eye on changes, and have a backup plan ready.
