Memorial Day weekend flight cancelations top 4,500 and counting, disrupting passengers' plans amid ramp-up in holiday travel

Thousands of flight delays and cancelations are throwing a wrench in travelers travel plans this holiday weekend.

Thousands of flights have been canceled since Friday. As of early afternoon, airlines had canceled 1,100 flights. There were 2,300 cancelations on Friday and 1,500 on Saturday.

More than 300 of the flights that were canceled Sunday were within the US, according to data from FlightAware.

Delta Air Lines reported the most disruptions in recent days. On Saturday, the company canceled roughly 250 flights, or 9% of its flight schedule, and delayed 530 flights, or 19% of its total for the day. Delta has canceled 150 flights and delayed 150 on Sunday.

Delta told Insider that they are trying to give customers notice of cancelations when possible.

In addition to the factors outlined in the news release, our schedule today reflects heavy impact from adverse weather and air traffic control actions yesterday.

In an additional statement on Sunday, Delta said that it automatically rebooks customers on the next best option to their final destination through Fly Delta App notifications, email and text message.

There are several factors impacting the airline, including labor shortages, a rise in COVID-19 rates among staffers, and weather and air traffic control, according to the Saturday press release.

More than any time in our history, the various factors currently impacting our operation are resulting in an operation that isn't consistently up to the standards Delta has set for the industry in recent years.

There is a boom in air travel heading into Memorial Day, which coincides with the disruptions. More people are expected to fly this Memorial Day weekend than last year.

According to agency data, nearly 2 million people passed through the Transportation Security Administration's checkpoint on Saturday, up from 1.6 million at the same time last year. The number of passengers screened by the TSA went up from 2 million to 2.4 million on Friday.

Airlines are struggling with staff shortages. Staffing challenges, as well as other factors, have caused carriers like Delta, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines to make cuts to their flight schedules.

Reducing training requirements for pilots is one way airlines are trying to plug the shortage.