Flying woes pile up ahead of Fourth of July holiday travel

(FOX 2) - Across the U.S., 24,000 flights were delayed while 1,600 were canceled due to travel woes from the weather, staffing, and the government placing holds on take-offs. 

With the holiday only days away, tensions were already high among the unfortunate fliers stranded at airports around the country. 

With travelers begging for relief from the craziness, at least one woman said she "trying not to explode."

"I am so mad," she said.

Summer storms in the Northeast, not enough pilots, and the Federal Aviation Administration holding flights were all blamed for the tens of thousands of disruptions over the past two days. 

United Airlines said it was hit the hardest with disruptions since the weekend. CEO Scott Kirby said the FAA was to blame for the turbulence. "The FAA frankly failed us this weekend," he said.

The FAA responded saying "we will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem."

Here's the best way to avoid the worst traffic if leaving for the holiday

"We know that nobody can control the weather, but anything under our control at the FAA we're going to be working on and anything under the airline's control, they need to step up and take responsibility," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Triple AAA says nearly 51 million Americans will spend the Fourth of July holiday away from home. Four million of those people will be traveling by plane - a new travel record for the holiday.