Airport strikes to impact Thanksgiving 2024 holiday flights? What flyers need to know

Airports and highways are expected to be jam-packed during Thanksgiving week, a holiday period likely to end with another record day for air travel in the United States, as per an AP report.

AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday, most of them by car. However, travelers could be impacted by ongoing weather challenges and those flying to their destinations could be grounded by delays brought on by airline staffing shortages and an airport service workers strike, AP reported.

What the striking airport workers are saying

“We cannot live on the wages that we are being paid,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said at a rally earlier Monday. “I can honestly say it’s hard every single day with my children, working a full-time job but having to look my kids in the eyes and sit there and say, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to have a home today.’”


Timothy Lowe II, a wheelchair attendant, said he has to figure out where to spend the night because he doesn’t make enough for a deposit on a home.

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“We just want to be able to have everything that’s a necessity paid for by the job that hired us to do a great job so they can make billions,” he said.

ABM said it is “committed to addressing concerns swiftly” and that there are avenues for employees to communicate issues, including a national hotline and a “general open door policy for managers at our worksite.”

What are striking Charlotte airport workers’ demands?

Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a hub for American Airlines. They described living paycheck to paycheck while performing jobs that keep planes running on schedule.

Most of them earn $12.50 to $19 an hour, union officials said. Rev. Glencie Rhedrick of Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice said those workers should make $22 to $25 an hour.

The strike is expected to last 24 hours. Several hundred workers participated in the work stoppage.

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US flights are running normally

Forty-four fights have been canceled today and nearly 1,900 were delayed by midday on the East Coast, according to FlightAware.

According to the organization’s cheekily named MiseryMap, San Francisco International Airport is having the most hiccups right now, with 53 delays and three cancellations between 11 am (ET) and 3 pm (ET).

While that might sound like a lot of delays, they might not be so bad compared to last Friday when the airport suffered 671 delays and 69 cancellations.

FAQs

Q1. When is Thanksgiving Day 2024?
A1. Thanksgiving Day 2024 is on Thursday, November 28.

Q2. When is Black Friday 2024?
A2. Black Friday 2024 is on Friday, November 29.