United Airlines has granted 30,000 miles to passengers who faced flight cancellations or delays due to inclement weather and air traffic congestion last week. According to a United representative, customers who experienced overnight delays or were unable to reach their destinations between June 24 and June 30 received these vouchers. The 30,000 miles can be used to book a ticket between over 8,000 cities within the continental U.S.
The travel disruptions occurred during what United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby described as one of the most challenging weeks of his career. He stated in an email to employees on July 1 that even though airlines can plan for predictable events like hurricanes and snowstorms, they had never encountered such an extended and limited operating environment like the one Newark airport experienced last week.
Kirby faced criticism for taking a private jet from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to Denver, Colorado, during the travel disruptions. He later apologized, acknowledging that it was insensitive to the customers who were waiting to get home.
According to data from flight tracker FlightAware, more than 40,000 flights arrived behind schedule between June 24 and June 30, with nearly 8,000 cancellations. On Friday alone, approximately 8% of United flights were canceled and 45% were delayed, making it one of the hardest hit U.S.-based airlines. These disruptions during the Fourth of July weekend, which was expected to be one of the busiest travel weekends in U.S. history, continue to affect travelers’ plans.
Meteorologists predict that rainy weather and thunderstorms will persist in the New York metro area on Monday and Tuesday, potentially causing further flight disruptions. Additionally, aircraft backups at Newark airport have significantly reduced the number of departing flights, leading to average delays of 6 to 8 hours each day, according to Kirby’s email.
“Severely limited” capacity
Kirby emphasized that airlines, including United, are not designed to operate successfully when their largest hub experiences severely limited capacity for four consecutive days. He cited staffing shortages at the Federal Aviation Agency as a contributing factor to the travel disruptions. As a result, United’s leaders plan to make schedule modifications at Newark airport to mitigate future disruptions.
As of now, United has not disclosed any specific details regarding these schedule changes.
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