Over the past week, many flights were canceled and even more were delayed due to a combination of bad weather and technology issues.
Carriers were thrown off track after thunderstorms started to roll in across the East Coast and the Midwest. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also had to briefly pause operations at Washington D.C.-area airports Sunday because of a communications system problem at a major air traffic control facility.
On top of this, industry experts have warned that air traffic control is short-staffed, making matters worse.
For instance, on Saturday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the FAA reduced the arrival rates at Newark – one of United’s hubs – by 40% and the departure rates by 75%, which he argued was “almost certainly a reflection of understaffing/lower experience at the FAA.”
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Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and current FlightAware spokesperson, told FOX Business that with “air traffic control short-staffed, any high-traffic airspace impacted by weather could see excessive delays and cancellations.”
As concerns grow, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Friday that the “FAA continues to monitor weather and smoke and is engaged closely with airlines to address potential disruptions.”
If your flight gets canceled, most airlines will rebook you for free on the next available flight as long as it has seats, according to the Transportation Department.
If you want to cancel the trip, you are entitled to a full refund, even if you bought nonrefundable tickets. You’re also entitled to a refund of any bag fees, seat upgrades or other extras.
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For cancellations within an airline’s control, all carriers will also be able to rebook passengers on a partner airline or another airline with which it has an agreement for free, according to the DOT’s dashboard, which helps travelers compare what benefits the competing airlines offer. Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest and Spirit currently have not made that commitment, according to the dashboard.
Most airlines will also do this for significant delays that are in their control except Southwest, Spirit, Hawaiian, Frontier and Allegiant, the dashboard shows.
Currently, the Biden administration is pushing for a new rule that would require airlines to compensate air travelers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control.
For now, all major carriers offer a meal or meal cash/voucher when cancellation results in passengers waiting for three hours or more for a new flight, according to the dashboard. All carriers will also offer a meal or meal cash/voucher when flight delay results in passengers waiting at least three hours.
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All airlines except for Frontier offer complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight delay or overnight cancellation, as well as complimentary ground transportation to and from the hotel, according to the DOT dashboard.
Alaska and JetBlue are the only two airlines, according to the dashboard, that give credit and travel vouchers when cancellation results in passengers waiting for at least three hours from the scheduled departure time. Alaska and JetBlue also offer credit or a voucher in the case of a significant delay.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.