Posted on 07/03/22
| News Source: Daily Mail
Airlines have cancelled and delayed hundreds of flights in the U.S. sparking travel chaos during the busiest Fourth of July weekend since the pandemic, which has been dubbed 'Airmageddon.'
Around 48 million people are expected to travel this weekend with AAA estimating 3.5million would take to the air. But the actual number of passengers flying may be dramatically higher as, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.4 million travelers at airports on Thursday alone - up 17 percent from the Fourth of July Friday in 2019.
Many fliers will be facing disappointment, with 604 flights canceled by 2:30pm, and 2,879 have been delayed, according to Flight Aware, which reported that by the end of Friday, 586 U.S. flights were called off and 7,773 were rescheduled.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who previously called on airlines to get in shape before the weekend, appeared to give up on getting things under control as he told Americans to follow his lead and claim compensation over the canceled flights.
'Airlines offer miles as compensation for some travel issues, and you can often negotiate on this,' tweeted Buttigieg, who said he got back $112.07 over his canceled flight on Friday after he was initially offered about $30 back.