United Airlines’ troubles again snarl travel at Denver International Airport

Nationwide travel disruptions on Wednesday again snarled travelers flying in and out of Denver International Airport, where they were hit with a total of 245 delays and 81 cancellations as of 11:30 a.m., according to the FlightAware tracking service.

United Airlines stood out, leading other airlines at DIA on Wednesday with the bulk of the problems: 78 cancellations and 137 delays, FlightAware data show.

That brought United Airlines’ total at DIA over four days starting Sunday to 372 cancellations and 886 delays, the data show.

Stranded passengers chafed. United staffers set up 500 cots at DIA Monday and relied on Denver airport officials to provide blankets. United officials said they set up cots in the airport again on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, United officials pointed to severe weather as a driver of cancellations and delays because flight crews, pilots, and other staffers were hung up in other parts of the country.

“United is fully staffed in Denver. Our employees on the ground are working extra hours to get our customers to their destinations,” United spokesman Russell Carlton said in an email on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we’ve had to delay and cancel some flights in Denver because of the severe weather in the Northeast, which has also caused our flight crews to be out of place. We’ve increased staffing to restore flight attendant schedules and are offering triple pay to pick up open trips. We know our customers are eager to get to their destinations and our airport and call center teams are working overtime to assist them. We are focusing on helping our customers whose travel has been disrupted over the last few days.”

United’s chief executive Scott Kirby estimated that more than 150,000 United customers nationwide were affected over the past weekend. In a memo to United East Coast employees on Monday, Kirby blamed Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control staffing problems as a cause of travel disruption. Kirby told employees he is “frustrated” and that “the FAA frankly failed us” by reducing airport arrival and departure rates — troubles “compounded” by bad weather.

Ranked as the world’s third-busiest airport for passenger traffic with 69.3 million travelers a year landing, taking off, or connecting, DIA stands out as a key hub as summer travel reaches peak levels. The airport serves as one of United’s main hubs.

Around the nation, air travel problems persisted Wednesday with thousands of people stuck due to delays and cancellations. Staffing shortages at airlines, in addition to the FAA problems ensuring sufficient air traffic controllers, played a role. When severe weather hits and disrupts flights, air travel operations often cannot recover swiftly amid staffing shortages.