Flights snarled nationwide, in NY blamed on staffing shortages, weather

Thousands of flights were delayed or canceled at metropolitan-area airports over the weekend, with slowdowns continuing Sunday amid a national rise in travel demand, staffing issues and weather problems. 

Sunday there were 285 delays and  78 cancellations at Kennedy Airport, 201 delays and  73 cancellations at LaGuardia Airport and  208 delays and  103 cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport as of 8:45 p.m., according to the website FlightAware.

There were fivee delays and a single cancellation at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma Sunday just after 9:40 p.m.

Nationwide, there were 4,920 delays and 896 cancellations as of 8:50 p.m. Sunday for flights into, out of or within the United States, according to FlightAware. Saturday saw 6,454 delays and 860 cancellations across the country, according to the website.

Weather in parts of the East Coast was the cause of most of the nation’s flight delays, according to a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. FAA staffing shortages have also contributed to flight disruptions in Florida.

The agency says it is expecting increased use of the nation’s airspace this summer but the FAA’s command center will work with airports to plan for bad weather and a new weather-forecasting tool should enhance its ability to manage the skies.

Meanwhile, airlines say they are doing their best to get customers up in the air.

"A variety of factors continue to impact our operations, including challenges with air traffic control, weather and unscheduled absences in some work groups," a Delta spokeswoman said in a statement. 

The delays come during the busiest air travel weekend in 2022 so far.

The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,173,292 people nationwide on Saturday, down from the 2,438,784 screened on Friday, which was the busiest day at airports since Thanksgiving 2021, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said in a Twitter post.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg met with airline leaders on Thursday to learn what they are doing to mitigate delays. Buttigieg told The Associated Press on Saturday the federal government could take enforcement actions against airlines that fail to live up to consumer-protection standards.

With Michael O'Keeffe

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.