A delayed flight can ruin even the most carefully laid travel plans, and given that they are often weather-related, there’s not often much airlines can do to avoid them. However, United Airlines is doing something to help keep travelers better informed and up-to-date. On Wednesday, the airline announced it would send real-time radar maps to travelers with delayed flights.

“With more people traveling this summer than ever, we wanted to give our customers an easier way to stay connected to real-time information about their flight, and texting was the simplest solution,” said Jason Birnbaum, United’s Chief Information Officer. “We know customers appreciate transparency and by combining innovative technology-enabled tools with people power, we can give more people, even more in-the-moment details about their flight.”

The airline is sending text messages to customers with generative AI tools. While some airlines have leaned into AI in other ways, like creating AI flight attendants, it’s the first in the U.S. to use the technology to communicate with customers on flight delays. The innovation, which helps to demonstrate how the weather in another part of the country can impact a flight, hopes to keep travelers better informed about why their flight was affected.

“Specialized customer service teams sit in the network operations center alongside the flight operations teams and tap gen AI to review flight data and write customer messages that tells the complete story of a flight change,” United explained in the announcement. “These messages are sent to customers through text or email in an effort to provide more helpful and relevant information about why flight plans are changing.”

The innovation comes at a pivotal time, as frustrations with airlines have been widespread in recent years. While there is a lot airlines can do to ensure smooth flights, like banning unruly passengers and taking safety precautions, weather is often the culprit for late departures and aircraft taking longer paths to a destination. Sometimes, pilots and crews get held up, leading to backups at the airport that spiral out of control. 

The brand said it will begin testing the technology from FlightAware’s flight-tracking platform over the weekend of July 4. The timing is imperative, as it’s set to be a record-breaking travel weekend. “With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel. According to AAA, 5.74 million people are expected to take to the skies to get to their destinations—an increase of about 7 percent during the holiday weekend last year and a 12 percent increase from 2019.

In addition to sending links with live maps, the tool will inform travelers of other reasons for delays, such as mechanical issues with aircraft and airport congestion.