Florida: Worst Flight Delays Happening Because of Space Launches, Severe Weather

Florida has been seeing flight delays due to private jet flights, space launches, and severe weather.

Bloomberg noted that the Sunshine State is seeing its worst air traffic in years, with airline officials and federal regulators discussed this week its measures to address the problem in Florida.

Carriers such as JetBlue Airways Corp., Spirit Airlines Inc., and Frontier Airlines have to reduce Florida flights this summer despite growing demand from travelers.

John Hansman, an aerospace professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that the air-traffic system is out of practice when it comes to responding to peaks in demand. Hansman has researched delays and the air-traffic system. He added that he wouldn't be surprised if as traffic levels come up, people may also see a similar increase in delays.

Aviation groups informed the Federal Aviation Administration that demand will continue to grow past 2019 levels, as stated in an emailed statement from FAA.

FAA Jacksonville Center data showed that the area has seen more traffic growth this year than any such facility in the country. Jacksonville Center recorded a five percent increase.

Florida Flight Delay

In April, tens of thousands of travelers faced 3,500 canceled flights and 12,000 delayed flights on a weekend.

The Daily Mail reported that storms in Florida and technological issues were blamed for the flight mishaps, causing passengers to express their grievances to social media.

Spirit Airlines was the worst affected by flight cancellations in April, with 37 percent of all their flights being called off.

It was followed by JetBlue, with 34 percent of their flights canceled, equivalent to 373 planes.

Southwest canceled 400 flights, with 10 percent of its entire planned day delayed.

Meanwhile, American Airlines canceled 270 flights, which is eight percent of their operations.

Southwest blamed intermittent performance issues after routine overnight maintenance of some of its backend technology.

One man noted that he had been stuck in the airport for 30 hours. He said that his flight has been moved from Connecticut to Miami from 8:05 a.m. to 3:39 p.m. the following day.

FAA on Florida Flight Delay

Florida logged a record of around 118 million domestic visitors last year, according to a CNBC News report, citing figures from state data.

FAA noted that Miami service increased by 113 percent; 107 percent for Tampa; and 132 percent for West Palm Beach before the pandemic.

The agency said in a statement that the limiting factor on the East Coast has been weather during a time of peak demand.

Increased military operations and more space launches were also behind the challenges of air travel in Florida. On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed air traffic controller training.

JetBlue Airways President Joanna Geraghty said that nobody could have expected that Florida in April would have 115 hours of air traffic delays for that month.

Geraghty added that she thinks they are being responsible by taking capacity down and rightsizing it to reflect the resources they have, as well as considering the external environment.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Thunderstorms delaying flights across Florida - from WPTV News - FL Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast