Hundred Of Flights Delayed To And From CLT Sunday, And It Was Like Nothing I’ve Ever Seen
A quick weekend trip to Florida turned into deja vu when for the second straight Florida trip, my flight got delayed. And then got delayed again. And again. I finally boarded my flight after the time I should have originally been arriving back in Charlotte. Only to then get delayed again for another 20 minutes. Finally, we arrived back in Charlotte, and the scene when I deplaned was like nothing I’d ever seen. You know the crowd trying to exit a football game that went into overtime and everyone stayed? You can’t really move even though everyone is trying to go in the same direction? Imagine that but people going in every direction. And this was just before 10 pm at night. There were lines and lines of people waiting to board flights, people attempting to run without the room to do so to get on a connecting flight. And this is all due to the sheer number of flights delayed and canceled out of CLT.
Storms Across The Country
Apparently, the delays were mostly due to storms that caused a ripple effect for flights across the country. When I was sitting on the plane the pilot mentioned there was a stoppage of all northbound flights at the time. Channel 9 reports that Saturday there were more than 500 delays and at least 40 cancellations at Charlotte-Douglas. Additionally, on Sunday there were 325 flights delayed and more than 60 cancellations at CLT airport.
Slow-moving t-storms will cause delays this AM into early PM in the Northeast, Midwest & Southeast. Check your flight with your airline before you head to airports in Boston, New York, Philly, DC, Southern & Central Florida, Atlanta, & Charlotte. https://t.co/SUb5J5ba38 #travel pic.twitter.com/ZJqVTiwhdK
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) July 16, 2023
Obviously, any time you fly you have to expect the possibility of delays or cancelations. It does seem that these mass delays are getting more and more common. If it’s not weather, it’s system outages, and staff shortages. If you are flying in for a certain event or meeting you almost have to give yourself an extra day just in case something happens. How much confidence do you have in the airlines currently? I know if it’s somewhere that is within a reasonable driving distance and I have the time, I’m more likely than ever to go that route.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport Is The 7th Busiest In The World New Data Shows
