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New York: Airports across the Uinted States are witnessing extreme travel chaos on the eve of Independence Day even as more than 100 million Americans battle extreme weather conditions.
Citing data from FlightAware, BBC reported that over 3,000 flights were delayed or cancelled within, into, or out of the US on Monday.
Data from the Transportation Security Administration showed that Sunday had the highest number of US airport passengers ever.
The United Airlines remained the worst affected by the delays, accounting for over 300 postponed flights, data from the FlightAware website showed. More than 5,000 delays and cancellations over the past week were reported by one of the major American airlines.
United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby in a letter to employees said that thunderstorms created an “extended limited operating environment”, adding that the situation was “one of the most operationally challenging weeks I’ve experienced in my entire career.”
The airline said it would compensate customers worst hit by the travel chaos with 30,000 frequent flier miles. This comes as storms threatened eastern US while an unusual heatwave was experienced in the south and west US.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said that US travel had been “so chaotic” because of severe weather which “put enormous pressure on the system”.
Meanwhile, thunderstorms - some with large hail - were forecast on Monday across the east from Mississippi to Massachusetts, as well as in states further north such as Montana and Minnesota.
The heatwave across the US south will remain in effect, with record-breaking numbers expected to shift up the west coast into California and Oregon.
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