Surge in July 4th travel begins at Logan amid airline staffing issues

BOSTON, Mass. — The vast majority of flights were still on schedule at Logan Airport Thursday night as travel ramped up ahead of what is expected to be a hectic few days of holiday travel.

Travelers who spoke to Boston 25 News as they headed for security had guarded optimism about their upcoming flights.

“So far, so good!” said Michelle Laracy. “I’ve actually flown three weeks in a row now. So far, this is my first one that’s – knock on wood – on time.”

“So far, so good,” echoed Steve Donovan. “We were supposed to fly tomorrow, and Delta allowed us to move our flight up by a day to hopefully avoid weekend chaos.”

Preparing for the worst, Delta is offering a waiver to customers, allowing passengers booked for July 1st to 4th to change their flights for free.

Traveler volume has been soaring this summer. Delta expects more customers this long holiday weekend than the airline has seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

But a shortage of pilots, air traffic controllers and airline employees has been causing thousands of delays and cancellations in recent weeks.

Some airlines have slashed flights from their summer schedules to ease the staffing burden.

Storms could also have an impact on air travel in coming days.

“They were saying, ‘There’s a lot of cancellations, get [here] early,’” said Fatima al-Muntafika. “I came early because I’m scared.”

At Terminal E, travelers waited in long, winding lines for their international flights. Most flights were scheduled to depart on time.

“Oh, it’s just the waiting,” said Ivan Bunjako, waiting with his family to take off for London. “It’s been a 6:55 flight. It’s now going out at 11-something. So, it’s a long wait.”

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