Mass Weekend Flight Cancellations Linger Into Monday — What to Know

Airlines in the United States were working to recover Monday after yet another weekend of mass cancellations that saw more than 900 flights cut on Sunday alone.

As of Monday morning, more than 400 flights had been canceled out of, into, or within the U.S. along with more than 1,400 delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. That followed 950 flight cancellations on Sunday and more than 8,000 delays.

And on Saturday, airlines in the U.S. canceled 657 flights and delayed more than 7,200, according to CNN.

Sunday's disruptions were mostly led by Southwest, which canceled 181 flights, or about 4% of the airline's entire schedule, and delayed 38% of its schedule, according to FlightAware. United Airlines also canceled 81 flights, or about 3% of its schedule, and delayed 34% of its entire schedule.

When it came to delays, however, JetBlue took the cake on Sunday with 52% of its flights not taking off on time.

On Monday, American Airlines, Southwest, and United led the pack, canceling the most of any other U.S. carriers.

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport was the most affected by flight cancellations and delays after a flash flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service Chicago for parts of the area. The airport had 47% of all its departures delayed and 12% canceled. Similarly, Chicago's Midway International Airport delayed 41% of all departures and canceled 14%.

Newark Liberty International Airport also saw widespread disruptions with 31% of flights delayed and 14% canceled.

The mass cancellations come directly on the heels of Thursday and Friday's disruptions in which nearly 2,000 flights were cut. Some of those cancellations were blamed on stormy weather that caused a computer system outage for Southwest at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The beleaguered airline industry has been dealing with massive delays and cancellations throughout the summer, blaming it overall on a combination of air traffic control problems and staffing shortages. Several airlines have proactively trimmed their summer schedules in an effort to avoid further issues, including JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, and United, while others have even extended those cuts into the fall, like United and American Airlines.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.