On Sunday evening, a Southwest Airlines flight, designated as Flight 168, encountered a lightning strike while descending towards Denver International Airport from Tampa. This event took place during a stormy Memorial Day weekend, with severe weather affecting many areas. Despite the incident, the aircraft landed safely, and emergency crews were on hand to assist once it reached the gate. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Southwest Airlines acknowledged the possibility of the lightning strike and subsequently grounded the aircraft for a thorough inspection by maintenance teams.
The broader context of this incident was a weekend marked by tumultuous weather across the region. On Sunday, Denver was among numerous cities grappling with severe storms, a trend that continued into Monday, disrupting travel plans across the southern and central United States. On that Monday alone, over 2,700 flights experienced delays, and many more were canceled, with Dallas-Fort Worth being particularly hard-hit by the adverse weather. Texas, in particular, had been facing prolonged thunderstorms and strong winds, with forecasts indicating that the severe weather would persist through Tuesday.
Additionally, this Memorial Day weekend was notable as it marked the first time U.S. travelers were required to present a REAL ID or passport to board domestic flights, a mandate that had taken effect earlier in the month. According to AAA, a record 45.1 million Americans were expected to travel at least 50 miles over the holiday weekend, reflecting an increase of 1.4 million from the previous year, thus marking the unofficial start of summer travel.
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