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[ad_1] Travelers are seen ahead of the fourth of July holiday weekend at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on June 30, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage | AFP | Getty Images Flight disruptions piled up at airports around the country ahead of the July Fourth weekend, but airline investors have largely shrugged them off. More than 63,000 flights operated by U.S. airlines, or 30% of their schedules, were delayed between June 24 through July 2. More than 9,000, or 4.2%, were canceled. Both of those percentages are above disruption averages so far this year, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The delays were driven mostly by a series of rolling thunderstorms coupled with other issues like a shortage of air traffic controllers in congested airspace around New York and other areas, derailing travel plans of thousands of customers. It upended what has been a mostly calm spring for travelers. But sky-high travel demand continues to keep airline stocks a...

[ad_1] Planes are seen on the tarmac as people wait for their flight reschedule inside of the Newark International Airport on June 27, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey.  Kena Betancur | Getty Images News | Getty Images United Airlines ' CEO Scott Kirby said that without more gates the airline will have to reduce or change schedules to handle frequent gridlock at its Newark, New Jersey, hub , a message that came after mass flight delays marred July Fourth holiday weekend travel. The carrier gave 30,000 frequent flyer miles to customers who were most affected by the chaos. "This has been one of the most operationally challenging weeks I've experienced in my entire career," Kirby said in a note to staff on Saturday. He said that the airline needs more gates at Newark Liberty International Airport because of frequent aircraft backups there. "We are going to have to further change/reduce our schedule to give ourselves even more spare gates and buffer — especially duri...

[ad_1] Travelers arrive at O'Hare International Airport on June 30 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Travel forecasters are predicting record travel for the July 4th weekend, but this year's celebration may also be something of a battle with the elements. Kamil Krzaczynski | AFP | Getty Images Flight delays and cancellations continued to mar thousands of Fourth of July travelers on Friday, with United Airlines passengers bearing the brunt of the problems. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 17.7 million people from June 29 through July 5, peaking on Friday at more than 2.8 million people. That would be an single-day record for daily screenings and one of the clearest signs yet of air travel's strong recovery from the Covid pandemic. More than 4,800 U.S. flights were delayed on Friday, though United had more delays than competitors. By 5 p.m. on Friday, the carrier had canceled more than 230 mainline flights, 8% of its operation, while more than 790 f...