Airlines cancelled hundreds of weekend flights and thousands more were delayed as thunderstorms in Florida slowed traffic in one of the country’s top travel destinations during spring break.
More than 6,000 U.S. flights were delayed and 1,930 were cancelled on Saturday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Disruptions continue on Sunday with nearly 1,540 cancelled and more than twice that number of delays, though Monday schedules appeared to stabilize.
Southwest, the nation’s largest domestic carrier, was the hardest hit in terms of the number of flights. The airline cancelled 520 Saturday flights, or 14% of its operation, and 398 Sunday flights.
In addition to weather, Southwest said it had intermittent technology issues early Saturday that hurt the airline.
Southwest, the nation’s largest domestic carrier, has previously said about 40% to 50% of its planes fly through Florida on any given day.
Budget airline Spirit cancelled 27% of its Saturday flights and so far has cancelled 27% of its Sunday flights, according to FlightAware.
JetBlue Airways cancelled 25% of its Sunday flights after cancelling 15% of its flights on Saturday, according to FlightAware.
American Airlines cancelled 364 Saturday flights and 211 Sunday flights.
American spokesperson Yamleque Murillo said the airline was still recovering from the impact of the Florida storms.
