HOUSTON – The July 4th weekend is a long-awaited date in the United States, many people take advantage of this holiday to travel and enjoy a well-deserved vacation. However, this year, travelers should be prepared for potential flight delays as airlines face a major test due to a number of challenges plaguing the industry.
According to FlightAware, website specialized in flight monitoring, since Monday more than 4,500 canceled flights have been reported and another 17,000 flights have suffered some type of delay throughout the country.
There are many factors that have influenced this crossroads. First, airlines are dealing with staff shortages. During the pandemic, many companies had to reduce their workforce, and are now finding it difficult to hire and train new employees in a short period of time.
In addition, the demand for travel has increased significantly following the COVID-19 pandemic. This higher demand has led to an increase in the number of passengers, which in turn has put pressure on airlines to meet this growing demand.
Also, the FAA has admitted that it is short-staffed in key positions including air traffic controllers. Last week, the Department of Transportation’s inspector general noted in a report that the FAA has made “limited efforts” to adequately staff critical air traffic control centers and lacks a plan to address the problem.
Additionally, the activation of 5G cellular antennas has also contributed to this nightmare. Last week, a new advisory was issued to airlines, informing them that planes not equipped with new altimeters, devices that measure an aircraft’s height above the ground, will not be allowed to operate in limited visibility conditions after Saturday due to possible interference from the new 5G wireless service.
Given this complicated scenario, experts ask to take precautions when traveling by air.
