Florida airports just saw lots of delays and cancellations. Will it change this summer?

Miami International Airport saw one of its worst weather events of the year this past week, with thunderstorms grounding flights for hours, leaving passengers stranded in terminals and on planes.

And summer has only just begun.

Weather is the biggest cause of flight delays in the country. And Florida is notorious for its summer storms. The downpours last Monday, with lightning and rain, grounded planes at the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports for about four hours.

The halt in air traffic, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, delayed, canceled and rerouted flights. For MIA, “it was one of the five worst weather days so far this year,” said airport spokesman Greg Chin.

Stranded at MIA

Making friendship bracelets, playing cards and praying. That’s how a church group from Chicago passed the time on the floors of MIA Monday and Tuesday due to the flight cancellations and delays.

The group of about 60 junior and senior high school students were en route to Quito, Ecuador, for a missionary trip with Chicago Street Church. They were scheduled to land in Miami early Monday, where they would take a flight to Quito. Instead, they were rerouted to Jacksonville, where they were stuck for about five hours. They finally reached Miami at around 11 p.m., said adult leader Keith Johnson.

The group slept spread out on the floors of the Miami airport and had to re-book flights for Quito. At the time Johnson spoke with the Miami Herald on Tuesday, only half of the group had managed to get new tickets.

With thunderstorms so common in Florida during the summer, what can you expect in your travels? ‘Here’s what to know:

So, what should you expect this summer?

Here’s what to know:

Why did the MIA and FLL shutdowns last so long?

Thunderstorms shut down the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports, according to the FAA.

Ground stops — an order meaning flights cannot land at a certain airport — are common and can occur for a variety of reasons, such as bad weather or for air traffic control. The length of a ground stop can vary. In Monday’s case, the ground stop was continuously extended because of thunderstorms within five miles of the airport, said Chin, MIA’s spokesman.

Ground crews — the workers who fuel the plane and handle luggage — can’t work if there is lightning. It’s also dangerous for pilots to fly during thunderstorms.

Why won’t airlines fly in thunderstorms?

“Flying in a thunderstorm is like being on the worst roller coaster of your life,” said Mike McCormick, a former FAA official who is now an assistant professor and program coordinator for air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.

“The updrafts and downdrafts are such that you can lose 1,000 feet, 2,000 feet of altitude in a second,” he said. “You can also gain altitude like that in a second. So it’s a constant elevator ride going up and down.”

Severe turbulence. Items flying across the cabin. Rain so heavy that you can’t see through the windows. Large hail that could damage the plane.

It’s all dangerous.

Sometimes, pilots can go around a storm. Other times, your flight might be delayed or canceled to wait out the weather. That can cause a ripple effect, leading to delays or cancellations at other airports.

Who decides whether it’s too dangerous to fly?

Getting the all-clear to fly is a collaborative process between the air traffic control facilities in the country and the airlines. The captain of your flight also has the final say on whether it’s safe to fly or not. And the FAA has the power to bring things to a halt.

“Pilots want to fly; they don’t want to cancel, just to get a day off, so they want to get airborne and for a pilot to choose not to get airborne is for a good reason,” McCormick said.

Remember, bad weather can affect your flight in a variety of ways. Sometimes the bad weather is at the airport you’re departing from. Perhaps the storms are en route to your destination. Maybe the thunderstorm is dousing the destination airport.

And while it’s true airlines can fly through certain weather, “this typically requires dramatically slowing the rate of flights and sometimes means halting flights altogether due to outdated technology, [air traffic controller] understaffing, and risk to ground crew. Some weather events, such as the recent flooding at FLL, prohibit operations altogether,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, representing 50,000 Flight Attendants at 19 airlines, including Spirit, United, Frontier and Fort Lauderdale-based Silver Airways.

She also expects travel headaches will worsen if Congress doesn’t pass a new FAA authorization bill before the current one, approved in 2018, expires on Sept. 30. The bill would authorize funding for the federal agency and provide new guidance and standards for the agency, airlines, manufacturers, pilots and flight attendants.

Is weather the only thing that can delay your flight?

Flights can be delayed by weather, mechanical issues, air traffic control or staffing issues at the airport or with your airline, such as if the flight crew times out.

The FAA limits how many hours pilots can fly consecutively and requires at least 10 hours of rest between shifts for airline flight crews. That’s to ensure the safety of crews and passengers. You don’t want an exhausted, sleep-deprived crew flying the plane. If a flight crew times out, the airline will either reschedule the flight or call in other crew members who are on standby to take over the flight.

READ NEXT: Is your Miami or Fort Lauderdale flight delayed or canceled? Here’s how to check

What should you expect this summer travel season?

Florida saw more frequent thunderstorms last year, with “significantly more weather delays in the area than normal,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

And while we don’t have a crystal ball, you can be sure that thunderstorms will continue to pop up in Florida and other parts of the country this summer. And because air traffic has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, bad weather can lead to a ripple effect of delays and cancellations.

“All things considered, we hope air travel will be relatively smooth sailing for everyone taking flight. Still, with our rainy season overlapping the Atlantic hurricane season, afternoon rainstorms with lightning are more common during the summer,” Arlene Satchell, spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale airport, said in an email. “So, we ask FLL travelers to be patient and understanding should flight delays occur due to temporary stoppage of airfield activity as airline crews shelter from potential harm. Having a Plan B in case of any last-minute travel disruptions, especially if flying with small children or seniors, is always a good idea.”

When will the most storms happen?

Robert Molleda, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Miami, said that on average, the first six weeks of rainy season tend to have more daily — and stronger — thunderstorms.

“We’re talking kind of like from the beginning of the season through about maybe like the first week of July,” Molleda said.

“It’s been a pretty active weather pattern causing these strong storms to form not just here in Florida,” he said, “but really in much of the southeast United States.”

Tips to avoid and navigate delayed and canceled flights in summer

▪ Book an early flight. “Weather builds through the course of the day, so especially in the southern part of the United States, afternoons and evenings are going to be thunderstorm territory,” McCormick, the professor, said. Earlier flights also have less delays.

▪ Have entertainment. Download videos and e-books, or take a paperback, to help entertain yourself if you do get stuck at the airport. Call a friend. Play a video game. Scroll through TikTok.

▪ Bring chargers. Make sure your phone, laptop, tablet, Nintendo Switch and other devices are fully charged before heading to the airport. And take chargers with you. Once you scout out a seat with an outlet, claim it.

▪ Bring a carry-on: Pack essential items such as medicine, travel documents, chargers and a change of clothes, just in case something goes wrong and you can’t get your luggage immediately.

▪ Be patient. “Summer is always difficult with increased flights, thunderstorms, hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions. Pack your patience. We’ll take off when it’s safe for everyone,” said Nelson, the flight attendant union leader.