It would be reasonable to think that the Southwest cancellation fiasco would be the end of the holiday travel chaos. In the wake of a polar vortex, the cancellations seemed like the last hurdle, the final hurdle to overcome before vacationers could finally exit the confines of America’s blighted airports.
As Franklin Herbert famously said: “There is no real end.” of Dune the author was talking about history, but given what happened at Florida airports on January 2nd, I think it could also apply to travel chaos. USA Today reports that hundreds of delays occurred at Florida airports due to an air traffic control computer problem.
According to FlightAware, there were 279 delayed flights at Orlando International, 218 at Fort Lauderdale International, 226 at Miami International and 124 at Tampa International on January 2.
As of 8 p.m. Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration shared with USA Today that the agency was working “toward safely returning to a normal traffic rate in Florida airspace.” As of Tuesday, it appears that the delays have largely decreased. Flight Aware reports there were 100 delays in Orlando and all other Florida airports were reporting fewer than 100 delays.
Hopefully, with the holiday travel season officially over for 2023, it may also mark the end of the delays, cancellations and general chaos that defined 2022 air travel.
