now, the company is blaming air traffic control problems, staffing and weather. let s get straight to cnn aviation correspondent pete monteen, he s been following all of this. he s at reagan national airport today. what more are you learning about these cancellations and what s really behind them, pete? erica, this is a huge operational mess for southwest airlines and it s not like they can get back to normal with the flip of a switch. this is really more akin to unplugging something and plugging it back in again. these problems that southwest says started back on friday because of air traffic control and weather issues prompted a rare statement from the federal aviation administration saying there were no such issues on saturday and sunday when southwest experienced the lion s shares of its cancellations, 1,100 flights on sunday, about 30% of its total schedule. so far we ve seen about 348 cancellations today. that s about one in every ten flights. this is really caused by a ripple
by airline passengers. the faa is out with a new message for air travelers. unruly behavior doesn t fly. and it is slapping those passengers with steep fines. more tonight from cnn s pete monteen. reporter: thousands of ugly, unruly passenger incidented reported just this year are putting not only flight attendants in danger but also are distracting pilots. according to a new public service announcement by the federal aviation administration. unruly passenger we need to get off the airplane. reporter: the just released video features recordings of actual radio transmissions between flight crews and air traffic control when confronted with issues that have climbed intolerable levels. just shy of 4,000 incidents this year with nearly three-quarters involving the federal transportation mask mandate and many passengers drinking alcohol
brianna. really tough for flyers to get rescheduled. and certainly puts a crimp in their travel plans. pete live at national airport. thank you. helping to make important decisions for the nation and legacy, a new book explores the untold stories of unofficial presidential advisers and how these friendships influence history and the world. it s called first friends: the powerful unsung and unelected people who shape our presidents. the author, gary ginsburg joins me. gary, great to see you. i have to say this subject so fertile, i think it s a great subject for a book and the examples you chose were phenomenal. why did you decide to do this? well, since i was a young kid i ve always been fascinated by the american presidency. when i got older i worked on presidential campaigns then i worked in the clinton administration. i came to witness some really
one of the busiest days for u.s. airports in 16 months back before the pandemic. more than 2.1 million travelers passed through airport security, just shy of the pandemic-era record. and tsa says today should bring even bigger crowds. cnn s pete monteen is live at regan national regan washington national airport. i was flying last weekend, pete. it s a zoo, right, and we re expecting it to be even busier this weekend? reporter: it s so true, jim. the tsa is saying places like nashville and myrtle beach are already seeing numbers higher than back on the same day in 2019 pre-pandemic. we will see if today sets a nationwide pre-pandemic era record. united airlines anticipates monday will be its busiest day in 16 months. with so many people coming back to air travel, this whole experience is not without its
cnn s aviation correspondent pete monteen joins us live. reporter: jake, southwest airlines says one of its flight attendants was assaulted on a flight on sunday when the flight attendant was just trying to give the passenger basic instructions about putting their seat back in the tray table. the union representing southwest flight attendants says this is when things got ugly and they call this a serious assault with injuries to the flight attendant s face, also getting two of their teeth knocked out. southwest responded by permanently banning the passenger and also saying it will not resume alcohol service on its flights, something it planned to do starting next month. and pete, who are the people who are driving instead of flying? tell us about them, because they won t have the same violent