Northeast thunderstorms disrupt airport operations

Residual impact from thunderstorms in the Northeast have led to a second straight day of heavy airline cancellations and delays. 

Airlines had canceled more than 1,800 flights within, to or from the U.S. on Tuesday as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern time and had delayed more than 4,000 flights, according to FlightAware. 

Newark and New York LaGuardia were experiencing the biggest challenges, with 25% of outbound flights canceled from each airport.

United, the dominant airline in Newark, had canceled 423 mainline flights for Tuesday, amounting to 14% of its schedule. New York-based JetBlue had canceled 12% of its schedule.

FlightAware statistics show that 30% of Republic Airways flights have been canceled. Republic operates regional routes for United, Delta and American, with a focus on the Northeast. 

“Recurring thunderstorms in the Northeast have made airline operations very challenging,” United said in an emailed statement. “We know our customers are eager to get to their destinations. Our teams at airports and our contact centers have been working significant overtime to restore the reliability our customers depend on.”

Regional airline Endeavor, which is owned by Delta, had canceled 22% of its Tuesday schedule. Delta is the leading airline at LaGuardia. Delta had canceled just 1% of its mainline Tuesday schedule, amounting to 61 flights according to FlightAware. 

Airlines cancelled 2,250 flights within, to or from the U.S. on Monday and delayed more than 8,800. United suffered the worst in terms of mainline operations, with a 19% cancellation rate, followed by JetBlue with 13%. 
Endeavor canceled 34% of its Monday schedule. Republic canceled 33%.

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