American Airlines has canceled or delayed over 1,000 flights this past weekend, placing the blame on recent bad weather and staff shortages.
The first round of cancellations came Friday with 376 flights canceled, followed by Saturday and Sunday having 551 flights and 480 cancellations. The majority of Saturday’s cancellations were due to a lack of available crew members, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequence,” David Seymour, American’s COO, told employees.
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Houston, Texas, received two tornado warnings on Wednesday when a severe thunderstorm was spotted moving at 30 miles per hour near the city, and a recent storm affecting Massachusetts left more than 300,000 state residents without power on Thursday morning.
With the nation undergoing a labor shortage, travel is expected to continue suffering setbacks. Staffing shortages among airlines may potentially get worse, with many forcing employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. American Airlines’s U.S.-based employees are required to submit proof of vaccination by Nov. 24 or else risk losing their jobs.
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In early October, the Allied Pilots Association warned American Airlines it could face a staffing shortage ahead of the busy holiday travel season if it mandated the COVID-19 vaccine and instead asked of the company that “alternate means of compliance with the Executive Order be made available for professional pilots.”
