American Airlines is the latest airline to cancel thousands of flights. A problem that began late last week. Cancellations and delays parlayed into this weekend as well as Monday, leaving thousands of travelers stranded across the United States.
For Dallas-Fort Worth travelers, the troubles began on Thursday of last week when North Dallas was hit with strong winds. The DFW airport was said to have been hit the hardest by the cancellations as it is one of American Airlines’ largest locations.
As of Sunday, roughly two thousand flights had been canceled. American Airlines also shared that troubles with short-staffing was also a major factor.
“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” American Airlines said in a statement to CNN over the weekend.
Those factors aside, the head of the Allied Pilots Association, Dennis Tajer, who represents American Airlines pilots, had more to say to Fox 4 about the airline’s issues.
“Management is not getting it done. Sure, weather happens but after it happens the sign of a strong airline is how well you recover and today management is showing they don’t have the fundamentals down,” Tajer stated.
In regards to the DFW American Airlines location, the carrier reported an improvement in services as of Monday with roughly 70 cancellations.
In an effort to address the staffing shortage, the airline shared that they will increase their hiring rate in the fourth quarter. Many airlines were forced to let go of staff during the pandemic.
Travel has now picked up, leaving American Airlines and other major carriers in a lurch to support the new demand. They also hope to see the return of more than 1,500 flight attendants for the holiday season that will begin on December 1.