American Airlines’ troubles at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport stretched into Sunday, when the carrier canceled 233 flights and the airport recorded the highest cancellation total worldwide. DFW also logged 143 canceled departures and 125 canceled arrivals as severe thunderstorms and flash flood warnings swept parts of western Texas.
The airport’s delays piled up alongside the cancellations. DFW said it had 398 departing flight delays and 290 arrival delays on Sunday, while American listed 864 delays of its own. Across the United States, there were 6,668 delays within, into or out of the country, and United Airlines had 16 cancellations tied to disruptions at O’Hare International Airport.
The weekend problems came after American had already canceled hundreds of flights at DFW earlier in the week because of a ground stop, making the airport one of the most disrupted hubs in the country heading into Memorial Day weekend. DFW also advised passengers to change terminals when heavy traveler volumes were expected over the holiday period, a sign the airport was dealing with both weather and crowding at the same time.
Travelers described long waits and crowded help desks as they tried to recover their trips. One passenger wrote on Reddit, “I’m stuck with a cancelled flight from DFW to SAV tonight. Long lines for help desk in admirals club.” Another said they were rebooked onto an alternate flight that was already boarding, adding, “I RAN to the gate and made it as it was boarding group 9.” A third traveler said, “As we speak I’m on the plane on the runway awaiting takeoff,” while another described the scene at the club by saying, “The line was crazy long in the admirals lounge when I left there.”
The broad picture is that DFW remained at the center of a weeklong weather-driven travel breakdown, with American’s hub absorbing the worst of it. With more disruptions expected on Monday, the immediate question for travelers is not whether the system is strained, but how long it will take for American and the airport to work through the backlog before the holiday traffic compounds it further.
