Memorial Day travel chaos as major city airport grinds to a halt after communications go down
A ground stop had to be issued at Nashville International Airport after a communications loss in Memphis caused travel disruptions on Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop Friday morning due to a communications outage at the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center.
It was originally issued just before 10 a.m. central time before expiring an hour later as millions took to the skies for Memorial Day Weekend.
TSA predicted that Friday will be the busiest day for air travel this weekend, with nearly 3 million people expected to pass through airport checkpoints.
FlightAware recorded just over 700 delayed flights across the US on Friday afternoon, four of which were cancelled.
On Thursday, the TSA screened just under 2.9 million people, falling about 11,000 from the record set last year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Travelers wait in line for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., May 24, 2024
Cars drive through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ahead of Memorial Day, Friday, May 24, 2024, in Atlanta
FlightAware recorded just over 700 delayed flights across the US on Friday afternoon
Memphis International Airport officials said they would brace for a significant increase in Memorial Day weekend travelers.
This is what officials at the airport said Fox that they predicted that more than 55,000 people would pass through the checkpoints, which would be a 6 percent increase from last year.
The volume passing through the airport last Memorial Day Weekend was the busiest in 15 years.
Those traveling in Iowa and Illinois may experience further disruptions after the National Weather Service (NWS) warned of severe thunderstorms that could impact travel.
The NWS said storms are expected to produce “very large hail, hurricane-force winds and strong tornadoes.”
According to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, there were more than 100 delays as of Friday Flight conscious.
On Thursday, New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and John F Kennedy International had nearly 700 delays and 90 cancellations.
AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said, “Airports will be busier than we’ve seen in 20 years.”
Samuel Tadros and his daughter Serenity 3 sit with the family’s suitcases after their flight to New York was canceled at Nashville International Airport on Thursday, May 23, 2024
Travelers travel through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ahead of Memorial Day, Friday, May 24, 2024
Travelers wait in line to go through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia
Highways are also likely to be congested in the coming days as motorists leave the city and then return home.
AAA predicted this will be the busiest start to the summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8 million people expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday β 38 million of them by car.
The California Highway Patrol has already said it will deploy “maximum enforcement” across the state as it prepares for “traffic chaos.”
Spokesman Art Montiel told us SFGATE that officers will be looking for impaired drivers and warned that drivers should prepare for heavy traffic all weekend.
He told the outlet, βIt’s not raining, the weather is beautiful, so people want to get out and have fun with family and friends. Be sure to plan ahead. Plan for the worst.β
This weekend’s highway traffic and busy airports could be a taste of things to come. US airlines expect to carry record numbers of passengers this summer.
Their trade group estimates that 271 million travelers will fly between June 1 and August 31, breaking, you guessed it, last summer’s record of 255 million.
Airport unions are using the holiday weekend to press their demands.
Cars drive along a highway during the Memorial Day weekend as the New York skyline and the Empire State Building can be seen in the background in Clifton, New Jersey, USA May 24, 2024
AAA predicted this will be the busiest start to the summer weekend in nearly two decades
This weekend’s highway traffic and busy airports could be a taste of things to come
A record number of Americans are expected to take to the streets over the 2024 Memorial Day weekend
About 100 workers who clean airplane cabins and drive garbage trucks at the Charlotte, North Carolina, airport began a 24-hour strike Thursday, demanding better wages and health care, the Service Employees International Union said.
About 15% of flights were delayed, but it was unclear whether the strike played a role.
However, a planned strike at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport was averted. Teamsters Local 553, which represents about 300 workers who refuel passenger and cargo planes at JFK, said it has reached a settlement with Allied Aviation Services and called off a strike planned for Friday.
βWe are happy that an agreement has been reached, that the need for a strike has been averted, and we are hopeful that the deal will be ratified by our members,β said Demos Demopoulos, the local government’s secretary-treasurer.
More than 8,700 flights were delayed Thursday, with the largest backups in the New York City area; Charlotte, North Carolina; Boston; and at Dallas-Fort Worth International and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.