Thousands more U.S. flights cancelled or delayed

US airlines canceled or delayed thousands of flights over the weekend as bad weather and staff shortages added to frustration for passengers.

More than 7,000 domestic flights were delayed and about 650 canceled Saturday, according to data from FlightAware. On Sunday, an additional 8,100 flights were delayed and 950 were canceled, the flight tracking website said. Turmoil on the tarmac continued Monday, with more than 500 flights canceled and 2,800 delayed by mid-afternoon.

Airport congestion is affecting all types of travelers, including professional athletes. WNBA player Nneka Ogwumike tweeted Monday that her team’s weekend flight was delayed three times. Ogwumike said she and her Los Angeles Sparks teammates waited for hours hoping the flight would get back on schedule, to no avail.

“This is the first time in my 11 seasons that I’ve had to sleep at the airport,” he said, adding that his team’s flight was ultimately canceled. “It was just a matter of time. So half of us are sleeping in the airport; half of us are in a hotel because there weren’t enough rooms.”

Sabrina Amorim, an animal scientist in Virginia, expressed her frustration with Delta Air Lines in a tweet on Sunday, citing flight delays, cancellations and long waits to speak with customer service representatives.

Amid the disruptions plaguing the summer travel season, there’s one potential bright spot for passengers: faster refunds. The US Department of Transportation has proposed a new rule Travelers can get a refund within seven days if they paid by credit card and their flight was delayed by three hours for a domestic flight or six hours for an international trip. Agency officials are seeking public comment for 90 days before finalizing the rule.

Bad weather this past weekend is partly to blame for the string of delays and cancellations. Most of New Mexico, along with parts of Arizona and Colorado, saw thunderstorms throughout Saturday, while heavy rain and flash flooding hit the Chicago area and much of the Midwest on Sunday.

The storms may slow flights Monday in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New York, Orlando and Tampa, the FAA said.

Bad weather forces airlines to delay a trip until it passes. Under federal law, commercial flight crews cannot fly more than 8 hours a day for single-pilot trips or 10 hours for two-pilot crews. Airline crew must also rest a minimum of 10 hours before a flight. As a result, longer delays may force passengers to wait for a replacement team to staff the flight.

Many airlines are also experiencing staff shortages, particularly pilots.

“There’s a shortage of pilots at regional airlines because the major carriers (like American, Delta and United) hire at regionals,” Derek Kerr, American Airlines’ chief financial officer, told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, larger carriers struggle to train new pilots fast enough, he added.