FILE PHOTO: American Airlines agent helps a customer to check in for her flight at O’Hare International Airport ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski
October 30, 2021
By Maria Ponnezhath
(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc said on Saturday it has canceled hundreds of scheduled flights over the weekend due to staff shortages and unfavorable weather conditions.
The airlines said it has so far canceled 500 flights on Saturday and over 300 flights on Sunday, in addition to 376 flights canceled on Friday.
“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” the airlines said in a statement.
The company expects to get through this period of irregular operations soon, it said.
Heading towards the busy holiday travel season, carriers are trying to hire more employees.
American Airlines said it is increasing its staffing across all operations, with nearly 1,800 flight attendants returning from leave and more than 600 newly hired flight attendants coming on board by the end of December.
Southwest also said it was hiring aggressively, with the aim of having about 5,000 new employees by the end of this year.
(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)