This Week's Flight Cancellations and Delays Will Affect July 4 Travel, Expert Says — How to Prepare

The flight disruptions, which started over the weekend, continued to spill into the start of the week.

More than 2,000 flights were delayed in the United States on Tuesday and nearly half as many canceled as airports across the country continued to deal with weather-related issues ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend.

The flight disruptions, which started over the weekend and continued to spill into the start of the week, saw more than 2,600 flights delayed as of Tuesday afternoon and more 1,000 flights canceled, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

Tuesday’s cancellations were centered around the East Coast with Newark Liberty International Airport reporting more than 150 canceled outbound flights, New York’s LaGuardia Airport reporting more than 120 canceled outbound flights, Boston Logan International Airport reporting more than 50 canceled departures, and John F. Kennedy International Airport reporting more than 30 canceled departures.

But the flight issues weren’t just confined to the Northeast. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport also saw more than 40 inbound flight cancellations while Denver International Airport saw nearly just as many incoming flights canceled.

United Airlines was having the most issues of major U.S. carriers on Tuesday, canceling more than 390 flights and delaying more than 500. That was followed by JetBlue, which delayed more than 300 flights and canceled more than 90 more; and Delta Air Lines, which canceled more than 50 departures and delayed more than 340.

Scott Keyes, the founder and chief flight expert of Going.com, told Travel + Leisure poor weather will cause a “significant backlog” for travelers over the July 4 holiday weekend as cool, rainy weather is expected along the Northeast over the weekend, according to The Weather Channel, and excessive heat warnings continue to plague the South.

That punishing heat is expected to stretch east through the weekend, according to The New York Times, blanketing parts of Texas all the way to parts of Florida in oppressive temperatures.

“Storms are hitting the East Coast at the worst time: right as the July 4th travel weekend begins to takeoff,” Keyes told T+L. “Expect long lines, few empty seats, and lengthy hold times to get ahold of customer service phone agents.”

Keyes recommended travelers who need to call their airline look up the international phone number instead of the U.S. number since they tend to be less busy. Travelers can also consider switching to an early morning flight, which is less likely to suffer delays since the aircraft is typically there from the night before.

Tuesday’s flight issues followed severe weekend thunderstorms that stretched from Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi, to the Ohio Valley, as well as an intense heat wave from Arizona to Louisiana.

To exacerbate problems even more ahead of the holiday weekend, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned flight problems could become even more common with the expanded rollout of the 5G network planned for July 1, The Associated Press has reported. That’s because planes that are not fitted with updated equipment won’t be allowed to land during poor visibility (like bad weather).

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