Total flight delays within, into, or out of the country have surpassed 3,000 as of Monday afternoon, according to data from FlightAware, with severe thunderstorms posing a challenge for air travel in the Southern Plains.
Newsweek has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by email for comment.
Why It Matters
This year, the American Automobile Association (AAA) anticipated that more than 45 million people would travel at least 50 miles from home through Monday to celebrate Memorial Day. It was expected to set a Memorial Day weekend travel record.
Severe weather is disrupting plans for travelers on Monday as meteorologists are forecasting thunderstorms across the Southern Plains.
What to Know
As of Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET, the FAA issued a ground stop for departures to George Bush Intercontinental/Houston because of thunderstorms.
The alert also noted that departures from George Bush Intercontinental/Houston are delayed an average of 75 minutes and increasing because of the storms.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport also is experiencing delays because of thunderstorms, FlightAware data shows. Low clouds, meanwhile, are causing delays of around 30 minutes for inbound flights to San Francisco International Airport.
In addition to the thousands of delayed flights, 86 U.S. flights have been cancelled on Monday, according to FlightAware data.
Earlier this weekend, thunderstorms prompted the FAA to halt incoming flights to Denver and at Orlando.
Flight woes could continue as the day progresses, given meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Houston posted on X, formerly Twitter, that two rounds of thunderstorms were expected to hit Houston on Monday. The first hit this morning, and the second is expected this evening.
What People Are Saying
NWS in a Monday forecast: “Multiple rounds of thunderstorms are forecast to impact portions of the Southern Plains, Mid-South, and Tennessee Valley through Memorial Day. Severe thunderstorms may produce large hail, severe wind gusts, and a few tornadoes. Excessive rainfall is also likely and may result in scattered to numerous instances of flash flooding.”
AAA report about Memorial Day travel: “Airports are bracing for another bustling holiday weekend. AAA projects 3.61 million air passengers, a nearly 2% increase over last year when 3.55 million travelers took to the skies. While this Memorial Day weekend isn’t expected to set an air travel record (that was set back in 2005 with 3.64 million travelers), this year’s numbers are projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by 12%.”
What Happens Next?
The expected wait time for delays at several Texas airports are increasing as thunderstorms continue across the region.
Most flood watches in place in the Texas area will expire by Tuesday morning. NWS severe thunderstorm watches and warnings have been issued further east in Louisiana and Mississippi, although no ground stops have been ordered by the FAA in those states.
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