Labor Day Is First Holiday to Top Pre-Pandemic Travel Levels

While more people have been taking to the skies again during the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, air travel’s recovery has been troubled, with this summer being one of the most chaotic travel seasons in decades. Many travelers have faced flight cancellations or delays, long lines at airports and lost luggage as airlines contend with labor shortages and schedule changes.

Airline experts had recommended people flying over Labor Day weekend book nonstop flights and get to airports early to avoid potential headaches. But most travelers over the last long holiday of the summer fared pretty well, according to data from FlightAware. The flight-data provider said 0.6% of flights over the long weekend were canceled, while 16.6% of flights were delayed. Both measures were lower than they were during this year’s July 4th and Memorial Day weekends.

“The airlines really got it together,” said FlightAware spokeswoman

Kathleen Bangs,

a former airline pilot. She added that airlines had good weather and had already pared back flight schedules.

Following the summer disruptions, airlines and airports around the globe have extended passenger caps and cuts to flight schedules into the coming months.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com