Travelers face cancellations and delays at Atlanta airport
ATLANTA - Some travelers were stranded at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, caught up in a wave of July 4th travel issues.
Atlanta's airport prepared this week for a projected 1.7 million passengers. To add to the volume of travelers, pilots picketed at the airport. Delta pilots say they are "beyond exhausted" working to meet flight demands and demanded better working conditions and pay raises.
By 7 p.m. FlightAware showed there were 193 delayed flights and 39 cancellations in Atlanta.
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The majority of Saturday's delays involved Delta flights. A Delta spokesperson address travel issues in a Saturday afternoon statement.
"Delta teams continue to safely manage through the compounding factors of inclement weather and air traffic control delays, which impact available flight crew duty time. Canceling a flight is always our last resort, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for any disruption to their travel plans. Delta automatically rebooks customers to the next best available itinerary – additional changes to flight plans can be made directly through the Fly Delta app or on delta.com."
AAA predicts 47.9 million people will travel between Friday and Monday, and about 3.55 million of those will fly. Delta Air Lines even took the unusual step this week of warning travelers that there could be problems over the holiday weekend.
Tips for Fourth of July travel at ATL
Atlanta airport officials recommend arriving two hours prior to domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
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Mass transit like MARTA and rideshare options may save time and east congestion.
Check parking options, security wait times, and open concessionaires on ATL.com.
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