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FAA Decreases Flight Stoppages With 1 Ground Delay At Major U.S. Airport: Potential Cancellations In The Evening

Air travel in the U.S. has faced significant delays and cancellations in the past two weeks due to severe weather and air traffic control (ATC) staffing shortages. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued weather-related ground stops at ten different East Coast airports on July 22. On July 27, the FAA slowed flights into three airports serving New York City: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

Thunderstorms have cleared in the New York City area, so the FAA has reduced the number of flight stoppages at the airports. However, another East Coast hub is now experiencing severe weather, which is impacting travel. Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) has seen more-than-usual delays and cancellations in recent days, but now, on July 30, it leads the U.S. in cancellations.

Boston Logan International Airport Cancellations And Delays: 27 July–30 July

Here’s the total number of delays and cancellations departing from and arriving at the airport, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware:

Date

Delays

Cancellations

July 27

359

51

July 28

468

230

July 29

479

549

July 30 (preliminary data)

45

379

Severe Weather Impact Flights At Boston Logan International Airport

JetBlue plane at Boston Logan Airport in East Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Credit: Shutterstock

Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) issued a weather alert for thunderstorms in the Northeast, warning travelers that their flights could be impacted.

“Due to thunderstorms across the Northeast, passengers may face delays and cancelations. Passengers are advised to check with their airline on the status of their flight before coming to the airport,” Massport states.

Showers are possible through 4 p.m. in Boston, according to WCVB. On July 30, the FAA implemented a ground delay program at 11:35 a.m., citing bad weather. It will remain effective through July 31 at 1:59 a.m. local time. With that, delays and cancellations could continue into the evening of July 30.

The FAA reported the average delay was nearly two hours, with the longest being just over 200 minutes.

As of the afternoon of July 30, 26 flights departing from Logan Airport have been canceled (3%), while 144 flights (18%) have been delayed. Arrivals have been impacted as well, with 19 flights (2%) scheduled to arrive at the airport canceled, and 235 flights (31%) delayed.

JetBlue, which has the largest market share at the airport, has been the most affected by cancellations by rate, with 2% of its flights delayed; however, Delta Air Lines clocked the highest number, with 34 total cancellations.

U.S. Airlines With The Most Canceled Flights On July 30

Rank

Airline

Cancellations

Delays

1

Delta Air Lines

34

444

2

JetBlue

23

301

3

Southwest Airlines

16

799

4

United Airlines

14

296

5

American Airlines

12

638

Local outlet WBZ News spoke to travelers at the airport who have been affected by the delays.

How Passengers Are Reacting To The Delays At BOS

Kyla Graves Hall, an Australian resident, said that her flight was delayed by eight hours and that she will be rerouted through China to reach her final destination.

“Have to go pay for a hotel room right now just to have a place for the kids for the next 8 hours or so. We have to go in the middle of the night,” said Hall, who is pregnant and solo-parenting her three children’s trip back home.

Brad McMahan, a Texas resident, said his flight was scheduled for Austin but now plans to fly into Dallas to reach his destination.

“We were supposed to go to Austin, and we’re going to miss that connection. Now we’re going to Dallas to hopefully drive home from there,” McMahan said.

The drive from Dallas to Austin is roughly four hours.

“We haven’t even made it through security yet,” McMahan added, standing next to his family.

Mellisa Giglio, a Hong Kong resident, has been trying to get back home with her family and has been monitoring the disruptions all morning.

“We’ve been watching it all morning, and we actually came early to the airport to ensure that we would be at least close to the airport if bad weather hit rather than have to turn back,” Giglio said.

As BOS travelers feel the impacts of the severe weather, it comes on the heels of last week’s heavy disruptions at the airport.

Information On Last Week’s Delays And Cancellations At BOS

Airline travelers wait in front of Shake Shack at gate 25 of Terminal C at Boston Logan Airport

Airline travelers wait in front of Shake Shack at gate 25 of Terminal C at Boston Logan Airport
Credit: via Shutterstock

Disruptions at Logan Airport were persistent from last Sunday (July 19) through Friday (July 24), with some improvement seen on the weekend, according to FlightAware.

Boston Logan International Airport Cancellations And Delays: 19 July–24 July

Date

Delays

Cancellations

July 19

453

139

July 20

468

52

July 21

449

336

July 22

479

109

July 23

423

29

July 24

207

8

On July 22, JetBlue faced its own struggles outside of the weather, with stranded pilots blaming crew scheduling issues rather than the weather. The FAA issued a ground stop due to thunderstorms on Tuesday, resulting in an average departure delay of 45 minutes. And the East Coast U.S. airport wasn’t the only hub to face weather-related disruptions.

On July 28, three New York City-area airports experienced significant delays and cancellations due to weather, according to FlightAware.

Airport

Cancellations

Delays

EWR

153

59

JFK

305

80

LGA

332

110

Denver International Airport (DEN) also faced a ground stop due to thunderstorms, with delays averaging nearly hours.

Weather is expected to improve in the Boston area on Friday (July 31) with just a spot shower; however, more showers and storms are possible on Monday (August 3).

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