As we scan the Internet looking for great stories for today’s Digest, we were hoping to find lots of great stories about how aviation is celebrating the Fourth of July. Instead, we found more stories about cancellations and challenges. We had hoped for a change where another holiday season would have come around and things would’ve been somewhat back to normal without many challenges. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always coincide with our hopes.
While they are things to celebrate, it seems as if there are some challenges with delays and cancellations, again.
In this week’s On Aviation™ Digest, we share some stories and articles on what’s happening in the aviation space concerning the Fourth of July holiday.
Flying on the Fourth of July: 3 Things to Know
There comes a time in every pilot’s life when they want to view Fourth of July fireworks from the air.
It can be done safely and legally, provided you take some precautions.
Commercial fireworks displays often come with a temporary flight restriction (TFR). Check the FAA’s map before you launch. Be sure to note the duration of the airspace restriction.
The airspace may be closed over the show site to a specific altitude to protect the crowd below or to provide protection for TV production crews over the show box to provide a live broadcast.
By Meg Godlewski | Flying Magazine
Fourth of July air travel delays as hundreds of flights cancelled
Travel chaos is affecting US airports on the eve of Independence Day, with more than 100 million Americans under extreme weather warnings.
More than 3,000 flights were delayed or cancelled within, into, or out of the US on Monday, according to FlightAware.
Sunday saw the highest number of US airport passengers ever, Transportation Security Administration data showed.
Storms threaten a swathe of the eastern US, while the south and west continue to bake in a heatwave.
By Sam Cabral | BBC News
July 4 travel weekend breaks record as United tries to make amends
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby offered an apology for earlier disruptions as the carrier plans to issue frequent flier miles to some customers as a goodwill gesture
The millions of people who took to the skies ahead of the July Fourth holiday enjoyed relatively smooth travel over the weekend as the Transportation Security Administration set a record for the number of people screened at airports Friday.
The agency said nearly 2.9 million people moved through checkpoints nationwide, topping the previous record set during the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2019. The record came despite airlines operating almost 2,000 fewer flights than on the day of that previous record.
By Lori Aratani | The Washington Post
United Airlines CEO aims to avoid flight disruptions ahead of Fourth of July holiday travel
United Airlines (UAL.O) plans to make changes in flight operations to avoid weather-related disruptions ahead of the Fourth of July holiday travel, Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby said on Saturday.
Recent flight disruptions have raised new concerns about whether airlines are ready to handle the summer travel boom during the first Fourth of July holiday in which U.S. air traffic is likely to exceed pre-COVID levels.
“While we work to control the things that are within our control, we must also do a better job of planning against the things that are outside our control so that we can be in a position to recover more quickly,” Kirby said in a note.
Last month, United canceled about 19% of its scheduled flights as thunderstorms and equipment failures at a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility in Washington caused significant delays for air travelers on the U.S. East Coast.
By Anirudh Saligrama | Reuters
Note: The views and opinions expressed in the content shared in this digest are for informational purposes only, are solely those of the original content creators, and do not constitute an endorsement by or necessarily represent the views of On Aviation™ or its affiliates.
Thank you for reading this week’s On Aviation™ digest. Do you believe that the issues with holiday delays and cancellations will get better over time, or continue to remain this way for the foreseeable future? Or this is not much to worry about in the airlines it should recover soon? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Remember to check out our On Aviation™ Podcast and continue the conversation on our Twitterand Instagram.
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