Need to reach an airline? Prepare to wait on hold for hours

As US air carriers see record pandemic-era travel, customers are taking to social media to vent their frustration over hours-long wait times to reach a reservation agent.

As U.S. air carriers see record pandemic-era travel, customers are taking to social media to vent their frustration over two-, three- and four-hour wait times to reach a reservation agent at the nation's largest airlines. When air travel came to a halt in March 2020, thousands of employees were offered early retirements and buyouts, but now the airlines are desperate to again fill these positions -- especially for reservation agents -- but it's proving difficult. On Tuesday morning, a customer could expect a call back from Delta Air Lines after three hours of waiting. Over Memorial Day weekend, Delta's automated service told customers the wait time was more than 21 hours. In a statement to ABC News, Delta acknowledged its challenges.