Cancellations and delays at Denver International Airport climbed to its highest point Friday out of the last five days.
As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, FlightAware tracked 133 cancellations and 450 delays in and out of DIA.
The backlog from last weekend stacking up even further Friday with more severe weather.
Flights could be delayed two hours due to thunderstorms in the area, DIA tweeted.
WEATHER ALERT: Flights may experience delays of up to two hours due to thunderstorms in the area.
— Denver Int'l Airport (@DENAirport) June 30, 2023
Please check with your airline before you arrive at the airport. Thank you for your patience. #cowx pic.twitter.com/BOmwb6bXke
For context, on Thursday, there were 102 cancellations, according to FlightAware, and 281 delays, by 1 p.m.
On Wednesday, FlightAware logged 70 total cancellations, by 8:30 a.m., and 114 delays.
And there were 64 flights canceled at DIA, plus 262 total delays Tuesday around 12:30 p.m.
Denver was the top airport Friday across the country for the highest number of canceled flights arriving at and departing DIA.
United Airlines continued to make up the majority of canceled flights Friday. More than half- 78 of the 133 cancellations- were from United.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Scripps News that United Airlines cited two main reasons for the challenges they faced over the past weekend. First, severe weather conditions in the Midwest affected the airline's hubs, leading to difficulties in coordinating crews. Second, there were staffing concerns with air traffic control, which impacted operations.
DIA issued the standard news release ahead of most holiday travel periods, but certain portions especially stood out given the circumstances at airports across the country over the last week and even the last year.
The airport recommended passengers check with their airline to confirm that their flight is on time and check-in online if possible- before leaving for the airport.
"We have been looking all night every couple of hours to make sure it's still on time because we weren't sure if we were going to make it because another friend of ours that's coming out, but not till Saturday, got canceled on Southwest," Andrea Aragon told Denver7 as she was traveling with her family through DIA.
Aragon's experience and her friend's was highlighted in DIA's advice to check whether or not the flight, a friend or family member is arriving on, is on time- before you leave to go pick them up from the airport.
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The problems from the past week were only exacerbated by what was already anticipated to be a busy travel period.
Friday, DIA forecasted 70,000 passengers would go through security screening.
In anticipation of the increased holiday travelers, DIA opened four new TSA PreCheck lanes for early-morning passengers Friday.
Part of the East Economy Lot was closed for anyone wanting to park their car there during their trip. DIA is making what it calls necessary improvements and repairs.
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The Colorado Department of Transportation reminded drivers Thursday to be prepared for additional traffic and longer drive times on mountain highways and state roads as people travel within Colorado for Independence Day.
CDOT estimated nearly 50,000 people would be traveling through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel Friday.
