Air travel hits another pandemic high, flight delays grow

DALLAS (AP) — It’s summertime and airports are packed with vacationers again. And combined with bad weather popping up in places, that’s causing problems for the airlines. The U.S. set another pandemic-era record for travel on Sunday, with more than 2.2 million people going through airport checkpoints. That’s the biggest number in 17 months, although travel is still not quite back to pre-pandemic levels. The big crowds and summer thunderstorms are creating headaches for travelers, because thousands of flights a day are running late, and hundreds more are canceled. There are long lines at Spirit Airlines ticket counters in Orlando, Florida, after the discount airline canceled about one-third of its flights on Monday.