DALLAS (AP) – American Airlines struggled to repair its operations but still canceled more than 350 flights on Monday as disruptions caused by staffing shortages at the major airline continued for the fourth day in a row.
Monday’s performance was an improvement over Sunday when American adjusted more than 1,000 flights – more than a third of its flight schedule – according to the FlightAware tracking service.
Like other airlines, American encouraged thousands of workers to quit last year when air traffic collapsed during the pandemic, only to face staff shortages this year when travel recovered faster than expected.
“The American cabin crew occupation remains tight, reflecting what is happening across the industry as we continue to grapple with pandemic-related issues,” said Paul Hartshorn Jr., a union spokesman who represents American cabin crew members.
Flight attendants said many had reached their October maximum hours in the last few days of the month and left many flights with no cabin crew. About two-thirds of American’s cancellations on Sunday were due to a lack of flight attendants and the remainder to a lack of pilots, according to the airline’s internal figures.
The Americans’ problems began Thursday and Friday when strong winds cut flights at their busiest hub, Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport. American was unable to position pilots and flight attendants for upcoming flights, which resulted in around 1,900 cancellations across the country from Friday through Sunday, according to FlightAware.
David Seymour, the airline’s chief operating officer, said over the weekend that help was on the way. He said around 1,800 flight attendants will be returning from vacation as of Monday, and more will be hired by the end of the year. The airline is also hiring pilots and reservation agents, he said.
American continued to blame last week’s weather for the cancellations long after the howling winds in Texas subsided, and that didn’t go down well with some longtime customers.
“The whole thing about the weather irritates me, because you get out of financial responsibility. I feel sorry for the people stuck somewhere and (Americans) not giving them a hotel voucher, ”said Craig Beam, who works in real estate for healthcare companies. “I know that you have personnel problems.”
Beam’s first flight on Sunday from his southern California home to a business conference in Dallas has been canceled. His rebooked flight finally arrived at DFW Airport at midnight on Sunday night.
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David Koenig can be reached at www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
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