Palm Springs Airport Flight Canceled Due To Heat

PALM SPRINGS, CA — If you're traveling from Palm Springs International Airport this weekend, check their new website for the travel schedule. At least one flight leaving from the Palm Springs International Airport was canceled due to high temperatures, a spokesperson with SkyWest Airlines said Friday.

See arrival and departure times at the Palm Springs International Airport website Palm Springs, California (flypsp.com)

Temperatures in Palm Springs topped 118 degrees Thursday afternoon. That was enough to ground a SkyWest Airlines flight to Denver, officials reported in a statement.

"(Thursday), SkyWest Airlines Flight 5512, operating as United Express from Palm Springs to Denver, experienced a delay and was later canceled due to high temperatures in Palm Springs and thunderstorms in Denver," SkyWest Airlines officials said in a statement. "We apologize for the inconvenience and are re-accommodating passengers on other flights."

Friday, Palm Springs International Airport has a forecasted peak temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.

PSP Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing & Air Service Daniel Meier told Patch that the airport does not make the decisions to ground a flight. That decision is made by each airline, they said.

Airlines also are not required to report their reasons for flight delays and cancellations, which they are the sole decision-makers in, to the airport.

Similar heat cancellations and delays have occurred at PSP in the past, and are not common or exclusive to Palm Springs, according to Meier. Heat-related delays also occur at airports in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson and Denver in the summer months, he said.

According to SkyWest Airlines, they are not expecting any more delays or cancellations for Friday, though it will be hotter than the day before.

A spokesperson with the airline said Friday that "there just happened to be weather concerns yesterday."

The Palm Springs International Airport recently updated its website with multiple online tools for tracking flights both departing and arriving, booking flights, car rentals and even tracking lost and found luggage, according to Harry Barrett, Jr., Executive Director of the airport. Flypsp.com, the site recently approved by the Palm Springs City Council, can help quickly answer traveler questions and provide resources to those in need of a rapid response.

It also tells the most recent temperature at the airport, a mere 110 degrees as of 11:45 a.m. Friday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will bake through the weekend:

Friday:
Sunny and hot, with a high near 120. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday night
Mostly clear, with a low around 90. West wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

Saturday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 119. North wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 91. West wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

Sunday
Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 114. West wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 89.

Monday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 113.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 88.

Tuesday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 114.

Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 87.

Wednesday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 115.

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 86.

Thursday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 115.