A golf star who traveled to the U.S. Women’s Open in California slammed United Airlines after her clubs got lost at the Newark Airport as thousands of flights were delayed or canceled during the Fourth of July holiday.
Aine Donegan, a 21-year-old LSU junior from Ennis County Clare, Ireland, arrived in Pebble Beach for her first career major-championship start this week.
But she was without her golf clubs, which were on the other side of the country at Newark International Liberty Airport in New Jersey.
Donegan tore into the embattled airline on Twitter, demanding an answer about the clubs that she desperately needed in order play in the U.S. Open this week. But when the clubs finally arrived in California, the driver was destroyed.
It’s the latest in the travel chaos over the Fourth of July holiday as flight cancelations today doubled the number from yesterday with airlines blaming severe weather.
Aine Donegan, a 21-year-old LSU junior from Ennis County Clare, Ireland, arrived in Pebble Beach for her first career major-championship start this week
But she was without her golf clubs, which were on the other side of the country at Newark International Liberty Airport in New Jersey
Donegan tore into the embattled airline on Twitter, demanding an answer about the clubs she needed to play in the U.S. Open. But when the clubs arrived, the driver was destroyed
She tweeted: ‘@united, I am not happy with you. My clubs finally arrived to Pebble Beach for the @uswomensopen and my driver is destroyed’
There have already been 316 cancelations and 739 delays as of Tuesday morning, according to FlightAware. The number of cancelations has far exceeded yesterday’s total which topped off at 149 cancelations.
Sunday saw the highest number of U.S. airport passengers ever, according to the Transportation Security Administration data reported by BBC.
On Monday, more than 3,000 flights were delayed or canceled within, into, or out of the U.S. Nearly 2.7 million people per day have been streaming through airport checkpoints since Thursday.
United Airlines, the worst-performing U.S. carrier for more than a week, was on pace for its best day in nearly two weeks, with fewer than 50 cancelations.
But customers had already shared their frustrations about the company on social media, sparking United to compensate customers 30,000 airline miles.
Passengers are making a last-minute dash to make it to their destination for the Fourth of July after severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc on air travel over the weekend
There have already been 500 cancelations or delays as of Tuesday, according to FlightAware
A short, intense rain shower passes over the Manhattan skyline Tuesday. More rain could pop up this afternoon, but dry air will push it out just in time for Fourth of July fireworks
United CEO Scott Kirby laid out steps to avoid a repeat of last week, including reducing flights at its hub airport in Newark, New Jersey, and improving its crew-scheduling system.
Kirby said over the weekend that United is working with regional authorities to get more gates at the airport but will need to reduce its schedule there to create more of a buffer, especially during thunderstorm season.
Kirby continued to place much of the blame for his airline’s recent struggles on the Federal Aviation Administration, which reduced the number of flights in and out of Newark a week ago. That caused United to cancel flights and left planes and crews stranded out of position.
United was also scrambling to save face after it emerged that the carrier’s CEO, Scott Kirby, flew privately from New York to Denver, while paying customers were left sleeping on airport floors.
‘Taking a private jet was the wrong decision because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home,’ Kirby said in a statement issued by the airline.
Passengers were unimpressed, with one tweeting a screenshot of his $10 million salary – significantly more than the CEOs of Delta or American Airlines.
NEWARK: People rest in Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday
Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines. His airline is offering air miles as an apology to passengers stranded this week
Passengers have been offered 30,000 free air miles in a bid to try and keep them flying
On Sunday, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told CBS that the reason US travel has been ‘so chaotic’ is because of severe weather, which he said had ‘put enormous pressure on the system’.
‘We had a hard two days with severe weather at the beginning of the week and that’s put enormous pressure on the system,’ he told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan when asked why air travel in the U.S. is ‘so chaotic’ recently.
He added that the Federal Aviation Administration would hire 1,500 new air traffic controllers this year and another 1,800 next year.
‘[Cancellations] really shot up at the beginning of the week, largely because of severe weathering hitting some of our key hubs,’ the Transportation secretary explained.
‘I think most passengers understand that no one can control the weather. But anything that’s under the control of the airlines – and anything that we can do on the FAA side – we need to continue pushing to make sure it’s the smoothest possible experience for airline passengers everywhere.’
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told CBS the reason US travel has been ‘so chaotic’ is because of severe weather, which he said had ‘put enormous pressure on the system’
The FAA expected about 36,500 flights on Monday and fewer than 32,000 Tuesday, then a jump to nearly 50,000 flights Wednesday, when holiday revelers will return home
Stranded passengers have reported having to sleep at the airport, stand in line for hours as they rebook flights, with some saying they were forced to wait days for their checked bags
More severe weather is expected to batter the the northern to central Plains and into the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.
In New York City, showers are expected to pop up in the afternoon, but dry air will push these systems out of the area just in time for the fireworks, PIX11 reported.
The south will continued to bake in a heatwave with record-breaking temperatures which is expected to shift up the west coast into California and Oregon.
The Federal Aviation Administration expected about 36,500 flights on Monday and fewer than 32,000 Tuesday, then a jump to nearly 50,000 flights Wednesday, when more holiday revelers will return home.
