While temperatures are on the rise, air travel is not. American Airlines announced that it was cancelling 20 regional flights in and out of Phoenix due to the weather.
Professor Ron Carr with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Prescott said the air is thinner at higher temperatures and that changes the way the engines function.
"So instead of operating at an elevation of 1,134 feet, the engines are operating at an altitude of 5,300 feet," Carr said. "That means there’s less air to kind of flow into the engine and less thrust being produced out the exhaust of the engine.”
In addition to outgoing planes not being able to leave, Carr says this will lead airlines to cancel flights that have layovers in Phoenix in case they get stuck there and are not able to take off to reach their next stop.
