(NBC) Monday morning, millions of Americans are getting ready to fly home after the holiday weekend. But some never even made it to their destinations in the first place after thousands of flight were canceled or delayed.
More than 3,000 flight cancellations and even more delays left plenty of travelers stranded this holiday weekend.
The long weekend, including the new federal holiday Juneteenth and Father’s Day, drove record numbers to the nation’s airports. Soaring demand is aggravating an already strained system.
Lines are crowding terminals from Charlotte to Salt Lake City.
Similar scenes played out less than a month ago when several thousand flights were canceled over Memorial Day weekend.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confronted industry leaders last week, pushing airlines to provide better customer service or face potential federal action.
The chaos comes as airlines contend with bad weather, staffing shortages, supply chain delays, and astronomical fuel prices.
Airline analyst Helane Becker said, “If you can’t lower your costs, you have to raise your revenue and so ticket prices are going up and, and they’re getting kind of out of control in some markets.”
Round-trip tickets are pushing $400 this month.
The sky-high prices are reflected on roadways too with gas continuing to hover around $5 a gallon and jumping by at least ten cents, within a week, in ten states.
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