Airline grounds flights due to heat
American Airlines grounded dozens of flights out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport yesterday due to historic high temperatures.
Temperatures were forecast to soar to 120 degrees today, when nearly 50 flights were cancelled.
All those services were due to take off or land between 3.00pm and 6.00pm local time.
The maximum operating temperatures of aircraft used on routes into Phoenix are just a few degrees more than temperatures forecast.
Some flights were halted on Monday when ground temperatures reached 118 degrees.
Phoenix’s highest ever temperature was recorded at 122 degrees in 1990 when some services were also cancelled.
Customers were advised to contact American for free flight changes or to request a full refund.
Extreme heat can impact a plane’s ability to take off with more thrust needed and depending on the payload a runway may not be long enough to generate the required speed to take off.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
All eyes on Qatar as Qatar Airways leads a season of global events