All Eyes On Airlines As Holiday Weekend Begins

Airlines have been short-staffed as they try to hire thousands of workers to replace those who they encouraged to quit when the pandemic struck.

Airlines that have stumbled badly over the last two holidays face their biggest test yet of whether they can handle big crowds when July Fourth travelers mob the nation's airports this weekend.

Problems were popping up well before the weekend, with some disruptions caused by thunderstorms that slowed air traffic.

American Airlines canceled 8% of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and United Airlines scrubbed 4% of its schedule both days, according to FlightAware.