Amid an already turbulent travel summer, over 1,400 flights were canceled on Friday in response to numerous thunderstorms blanketing the east coast of the United States. Tens of thousands of passengers were left stranded and scrambling to find alternative routes to their destinations. These staggering numbers barely manage to beat the 1,200 canceled flights from the day prior.

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Thousands grounded

Airlines have canceled thousands of flights across the United States in the past two days. Over 1,200 flights were canceled on Thursday, August 4th, and over 1,400 were canceled on Friday, August 5th, 2022. Over 6,000 delays have already been reported this weekend. The primary reason for these cancellations is numerous thunderstorms around the United States.

These cancellations mark the worst weekend for cancellations since mid-June. On Thursday, the 1,200 total flights canceled made up roughly 4.6 percent of all flights in the US that day. These delays and cancellations have left thousands of passengers temporarily stranded in airports until airlines can reroute them on another flight.

Most cancellations occurred at airports on the east coast of the US. The cities with the highest number of cancellations reported include New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, and Washington D.C. While these are certainly not the only airports experiencing delays and cancellations due to these storms, they have the highest percentage of cancellations. Many flights coming to these and other airports in the area from outside airports have also had to be delayed, canceled, or rerouted.

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Squall lines

Every summer in the United States, flights are canceled due to thunderstorm activity. Occasionally, thousands of flights will be canceled across a period of several days due to a heavy amount of thunderstorms. These massive disruptions to air travel will often occur along the east coast. Thunderstorms in the United States will commonly move from the southwest to the northeast. As they move further, they will naturally travel side by side, creating a wall of thunderstorms stretching from north to south. These walls of thunderstorms are referred to as squall lines.

Thunderstorms are incredibly dangerous for all aircraft to travel near. When there are only one or two thunderstorms in the area, a flight can be delayed for a short time or rerouted in flight to avoid the thunderstorm. When many thunderstorms come through an area in the form of squall lines, aircraft are advised to wait for the storm to pass.

These squall lines are the cause of both this week's cancellations and the common cancellations that come every summer in the United States. The east coast commonly gets hit the hardest with these flight disruptions because squall lines will occasionally form into one massive squall line covering the entire East coast.

Looking ahead

Entering another busy travel weekend, thousands of flights were canceled between Thursday and Friday in the United States, with thousands more delayed. Thunderstorm activity across the country has left tens of thousands of passengers stranded. Forecasted flight schedules for this weekend look grim as they are already filled with delayed flights.

What do you think of these latest cancellations? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: WTOK