US airlines delay hundreds of Labor Day flights

Labor Day weekend air travel was forecast to reach pre-pandemic levels

Hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled by major U.S. airlines this Labor Day weekend. 

As of 4:30 AM ET Sunday morning, there were 303 delays into or out of the U.S. and 51 cancellations, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.

There were more than 3,600 delays and 145 cancellations on Saturday.

These delays come as the American Automobile Association forecasts about 32% of Americans will travel this Labor Day weekend.

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The federation predicts this will be the busiest Labor Day travel weekend in three years, reaching pre-pandemic status, according to Fox Weather. 

After months of frustrating cancellations and delays, the Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it had launched an airline customer service dashboard, resulting in "significant changes" from all but one of the ten largest U.S. airlines. 

"Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption," Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices, and make informed decisions."

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"The Department will continue to support passengers and to hold airlines responsible for adhering to their customer obligations," he pledged.

Previous summer cancellations have been blamed on staffing shortages, particularly among airline pilots.

While federal officials have blamed understaffing at airlines, airlines have pointed to staffing problems the Federal Aviation Administration.

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The rate of cancellations is up about one-third from the same time in 2019.

The rate of delayed flights is up by nearly a fourth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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