Live weather maps are being texted to travelers by United Airlines to explain flight delays.

• Now, United Airlines is sending live weather maps via text to inform travelers about flight delays.
• Inclement weather hundreds of miles away from an airport can still delay flights.
• Nearly 21.4% of U.S. airline flights arrived late in the first half of the year, which is slightly better than the previous year.

The airline will now provide you with live radar maps to prove that bad weather is not the reason for your flight delay.

Despite the bright and sunny weather, a thunderstorm occurring hundreds of miles away can still disrupt your flight.

The FAA can issue ground stops to prevent airport overload by halting traffic departures.

Flights may experience delays due to bad weather, which can cause them to depart late and take longer routes to avoid it. Thunderstorms are unpredictable and can cause delays, while larger systems like winter storms and hurricanes are easier to anticipate. Delays can sometimes pile up, leaving planes and crews stranded.

On Wednesday, United announced that it utilizes generative artificial intelligence to share live radar maps, sourced from FlightAware, with travelers, in addition to other flight disruption reasons, such as mechanical problems or airport congestion.

During the July Fourth holiday period, United Airlines anticipates testing its technology as it expects to break a record with 5 million people flying between June 28 and July 8, representing a 7% increase from the previous year.

Nearly 942,000 U.S. airline flights, or 21.4%, arrived late in the first half of the year, slightly better than the 22.3% of flights that arrived late in the year-earlier period, according to FlightAware.