Airlines Cancel Over 600 Flights in US as Thunderstorms Hit Texas

Airlines Cancel Over 600 Flights in US as Thunderstorms Hit Texas
American Airlines flight 718, the first U.S. Boeing 737 MAX commercial flight since regulators lifted a 20-month grounding in November, lands at LaGuardia airport in New York on Dec. 29, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
Reuters
8/11/2022
Updated:
8/11/2022
0:00

Airlines canceled more than 600 flights in the United States on Thursday morning, as thunderstorms in Texas disrupted operations at one of the busiest airports in the country for a second straight day.

A total of 1,213 flights were canceled across the country on Wednesday, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday that a mix of thunderstorms and clouds could delay flights at several hubs. More than 2,000 flights were delayed within, into, or out of the United States.

The American Airlines Group Inc. canceled 368 flights on Wednesday and called off more than 300 as of Thursday morning, Flightaware.com data showed.

“This was the worst storm we’ve seen at DFW this summer,” American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said.

Southwest Airlines Co. also canceled nearly 250 flights on Wednesday, blaming weather and air traffic control programs.

“We are working through some residual effects this morning,” Southwest spokesperson Chris Perry said in an emailed statement.

In June, several U.S. carriers were forced to cut thousands of flights due to adverse weather conditions and labor shortages.

By Nathan Gomes