RDU among highest for airport delays, flight cancellations

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- It was another busy day at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and with it came plenty of headaches as travelers faced delays and cancellations.

This comes amid new analysis from Flight Aware that shows that RDU has been one of the airports most affected by delays and cancellations since Memorial Day.

On Monday, there were 74 delays and 26 cancellations among arrivals and departures. The bulk of the issues were connected to the Northeast, with 20 of the cancellations either arriving from or departing toward New York or New Jersey.

FlightAware found that between late May and mid-July, 4.3% of flights at RDU were canceled; the fourth-highest rate in the country.

ABC11 spoke to a lawyer traveling for business who was set to leave for New York early Monday afternoon before his flight was delayed, and then eventually canceled.

"This trend started about six weeks ago," said Wale Adeyomo. "Like if I have to be in court in the morning or have an early morning thing, I won't travel same day. I will not. I don't take chances anymore. Or sometimes, I will take the very first flight so that the plane is here, there's not going to be (any) delays."

Adeyomo was rerouted through Washington, D.C., and likely wouldn't make it to New York until late Monday night.

RDU issued a statement regarding the travel woes, saying that "62% of RDU's flights are to other airports on the list, including 39% to cities in the busy Northeast corridor. Our flight schedule, along with weather and shortages at airlines and air traffic control, combine to create a perfect storm of challenges that disproportionately affect RDU."

Newark and LaGuardia, came in at No. 1 and No. 2 on Monday on the list of airports with the highest percent of cancellations.

If you are traveling, make sure to check your status before going to the airport and check the parking availability. Remember, you can reserve your space online.