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A2 UP FRONT
Wednesday 22 november 2023

Record crowds are expected to take to the air and roads for Thanksgiving

Continued from Front snarl air traffic — the rate of
cancellations fell 18% com-
Meanwhile, AAA forecasts pared to 2022.
that 55.4 million Americans Even still, consumer com-
will travel at least 50 miles plaints about airline service
from home between next have soared, according
Wednesday and the Sun- to the U.S. Department of
day after Thanksgiving, with Transportation. There have
roads likely to be the most been so many complaints,
clogged on Wednesday. the agency says, that it
The weather could snarl air has only compiled figures
and road traffic. A storm through May.
system was expected to The airlines, in turn, have
move from the southern heaped blame on the Fed-
Plains to the Northeast on eral Aviation Administra-
Tuesday and Wednesday, tion, which they say can’t
bringing possible thunder- keep up with the growing
storms, sleet and snow. air traffic. In fact, the Trans-
Parts of Maine, Vermont portation Department’s in-
and northern New Hamp- spector general reported
shire are expected to get 3 this summer that the FAA
to 7 inches (7 to 17 centime- has made only “limited ef-
ters) of snow between Tues- forts” to fix a shortage of
day night and Wednesday. air traffic controllers, espe-
U.S. Transportation Sec- cially at key facilities in New
retary Pete Buttigieg said York, Miami and Jackson-
during a news conference ville, Florida. Meanwhile,
Monday that the govern- staffing levels in other parts
ment has tried to better of the airline industry have
prepare for holiday travel largely recovered since the
over the last year by hir- Travellers queue up to pass through the south security checkpoint at Denver International Airport, pandemic. After shedding
Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, in Denver.
ing more air traffic control- Associated Press tens of thousands of work-
lers, opening new air routes ers early on, airlines have
along the East Coast and ning to take a long driving passengers stranded. Scott trapped out of position been on a hiring spree
providing grants to airports trip this Thanksgiving hasn’t Keyes, founder of the trav- and its crew-rescheduling since late 2020. Passenger
for snowplows and deicing changed much from last el site Going, is cautiously system got bogged down. airlines have added more
equipment. But he warned year. Patrick De Haan, an optimistic that holiday air The airline canceled nearly than 140,000 workers —
travelers to check road analyst for the price-track- travel won’t be the same 17,000 flights before fixing an increase of nearly 40%
conditions and flight times ing service, said inflation mess. So far this year, he the operation. Federal reg- — according to govern-
before leaving home. has cooled but some things said, airlines have avoided ulators told Southwest re- ment figures updated last
“Mother Nature, of course, like food are still getting massive disruptions. “Eve- cently that it could be fined week. The number of peo-
is the X factor in all of this,” more expensive. Consum- ryone understands that air- for failing to help stranded ple working in the business
he said. ers are also charging more lines can’t control Mother travelers. is the largest since 2001,
The good news for travel- on credit cards and saving Nature and it’s unsafe to Southwest officials say they when there were many
ers by plane and car alike: less. take off or land in the mid- have since purchased ad- more airlines.
Prices are coming down. “Sure, they love the fall- dle of a thunderstorm or ditional deicing trucks and Airlines are using their ex-
Airfares are averaging $268 ing gas prices, but a lot of snowstorm,” Keyes said. heating equipment and will panded work forces to op-
per ticket, down 14% from Americans spent in other “What really irks people are add staff at cold-weather erate more flights. South-
a year ago, according to ways this summer and they the controllable cancella- airports depending on the west is the most aggressive
the travel site Hopper. may not be ready to open tions — those widespread forecast. The company among the big carriers,
Gasoline prices are down their wallets for Thanksgiv- disruptions because the air- said it has also updated its planning to offer 13% more
about 45 cents a gallon ing travel just yet,” De Haan line couldn’t get their act crew-scheduling technol- seats over Thanksgiving
from this time last year. The said. together because their sys- ogy. than it did during the com-
national average was $3.30 Thanksgiving marks the start tem melted down the way U.S. airlines as a whole have parable five-day stretch
per gallon on Monday, ac- of the holiday travel season, Southwest did over Christ- been better about strand- last year, according to
cording to AAA, down from and many still haven’t shak- mas.” ing passengers. Through travel data provider Cirium.
$3.67 a year ago. en last December’s night- Indeed, Southwest didn’t October, they canceled United and Delta are grow-
A survey of GasBuddy us- mare before Christmas, recover as quickly as oth- 38% fewer flights than dur- ing 8% each. American will
ers found that despite when severe winter storms er carriers from last year’s ing the same period in 2022. grow a more modest 5%
cheaper pump prices, the knocked out thousands of storm when its planes, pilots From June through August but still have the largest
number of people plan- flights and left millions of and flight attendants were — when thunderstorms can number of seats.q