More than 300 US flights canceled, thousands delayed during Labor Day weekend

More than 300 flights into, within or out of the U.S. during Labor Day weekend were canceled as of Saturday, as well as thousands delayed.

Saturday evening found 346 flights canceled from Friday through Monday, in addition to 8,228 flights delayed on Friday and Saturday.

The numbers were larger including international flights, 7,263 canceled across all four days and 35,382 delayed during the weekend.

These figures follow a summer fraught with travel troubles, starting as COVID-19 restrictions lifted during the late spring.

Memorial Day weekend saw thousands of flights canceled or delayed, with more than 1,000 delayed by noon on Memorial Day itself as well as 342 canceled.

Costs skyrocketed in April and May as people began returning to airports, with airfares rising by almost 19 percent between March and April.

In May, 90 percent of U.S. travelers said that they intended to take a trip in the following six months.

A contingent of pilots affiliated with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) picketed ahead of Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest American travel weekends of the year, calling for improved working conditions.

“We’re asking all ALPA pilots to join us for an ALPA-wide informational picket to show the public, our lawmakers and our airlines that all airline pilots stand together in support of the profession-wide goal of improved working conditions and benefits,” wrote the union before the arranged picketing date.

The Senate got involved in airline troubles in August when it introduced the Cash Refunds for Flight Cancellations Act, backed by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The bill, which was introduced alongside a companion bill in the House, would require airlines to provide passengers with refunds or vouchers within 30 days of a flight cancellation.