Airline cancelations at Philadelphia International Airport expected to continue into fall

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you plan to fly, pack your patience.

It has been a rough few months for air travelers with delays and cancelations all across the country.

At the Philadelphia International Airport, you can expect cancellations to continue into the fall.

"We got to the airport all ready to go, they told us the flight was canceled. We couldn't check in," said Mike Poulakidis, of Chicago. "We're looking at all options. We may end up driving."

Poulakidis and his family expected to fly home to Chicago early Friday morning, but instead they're stuck.

He says the worst part was that his United Airlines flight was canceled with no warning.

"They said it was mechanical, but they gave us no notice. I didn't get anything on my phone and came all the way over here from the hotel. I had my mobile boarding ticket, alerts and everything," he said. "They just told us we were out of luck and rescheduled until tomorrow."

On Friday morning, 17 American Airlines flights were delayed or canceled due to weather and air traffic control constraints.

Airlines have recently blamed bad weather, staffing shortages and high demand for recent flight interruptions.

American Airlines says it's cutting two percent of flights from its schedule of departing and arriving flights for September and October.

That means PHL's largest airport carrier will have hundreds of flights cut over the next few months.

The airline reports roughly three percent of scheduled September flights scheduled and five percent in October will be canceled.

The airline says it will contact passengers directly with alternative travel options.

Travelers tell Action News the cancelations are frustrating, but people say they are still willing to risk delays and cancellations.

You can get the latest numbers on flight cancellations online here.