American Airlines canceling hundreds of flights through mid-July, blames ‘weather,’ ‘labor shortages’

Travelers in North Texas and around the country are scrambling to find alternate transportation after American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights this past weekend and on Monday.

It’s a trend that will continue.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has canceled flights through mid-July. There were more than 120 flights canceled on Saturday, June 19, and more than 160 flights canceled the following day.

In fact, the current projection is for between 50 to 80 flight cancellations per day until at least July 15.

According to the airline, the cancellations are due to labor shortages, an increase in customer demand and bad weather.

“The first few weeks of June have brought unprecedented weather to our largest hubs, heavily impacting our operation and causing delays, canceled flights and disruptions to crew member schedules and our customers’ plans,” American Airlines spokeswoman Stacy Day wrote in a statement to Spectrum News. “That, combined with the labor shortages some of our vendors are contending with and the incredibly quick ramp up of customer demand, has led us to build in additional resilience and certainty to our operation by adjusting a fraction of our scheduled flying through mid-July.”

Customers whose flights have been canceled through July 15 will receive a notification so they can make other plans, the airline reported.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the airline furloughed thousands of employees.

The airline in October 2020 reported about 12,500 employee departures and early outs and anticipated roughly 19,000 involuntary staff reductions total. That included 17,500 furloughs and 1,500 involuntary separations on the management side.

American Airlines in April reported it lost $1.25 billion in the first quarter and continued to slash costs, including delaying delivery of new jets as it waited for air travel to recover from the pandemic.

More than a year ago, when the pandemic was just starting to hit the U.S., American lost $2.24 billion.

“Our focus this summer ― and always ― is on delivering for our customers no matter the circumstance. We never want to disappoint, and feel these schedule adjustments will help ensure we can take good care of our customers and team members and minimize surprises at the airport,” Day continued.

Travelers in North Texas and around the country are scrambling to find alternate transportation after American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights this past weekend and on Monday.

It’s a trend that will continue.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has canceled flights through mid-July. There were more than 120 flights canceled on Saturday, June 19, and more than 160 flights canceled the following day.

In fact, the current projection is for between 50 to 80 flight cancellations per day until at least July 15.

According to the airline, the cancellations are due to labor shortages, an increase in customer demand and bad weather.

“The first few weeks of June have brought unprecedented weather to our largest hubs, heavily impacting our operation and causing delays, canceled flights and disruptions to crew member schedules and our customers’ plans,” American Airlines spokeswoman Stacy Day wrote in a statement to Spectrum News. “That, combined with the labor shortages some of our vendors are contending with and the incredibly quick ramp up of customer demand, has led us to build in additional resilience and certainty to our operation by adjusting a fraction of our scheduled flying through mid-July.”

Customers whose flights have been canceled through July 15 will receive a notification so they can make other plans, the airline reported.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the airline furloughed thousands of employees.

The airline in October 2020 reported about 12,500 employee departures and early outs and anticipated roughly 19,000 involuntary staff reductions total. That included 17,500 furloughs and 1,500 involuntary separations on the management side.

American Airlines in April reported it lost $1.25 billion in the first quarter and continued to slash costs, including delaying delivery of new jets as it waited for air travel to recover from the pandemic.

More than a year ago, when the pandemic was just starting to hit the U.S., American lost $2.24 billion.

“Our focus this summer ― and always ― is on delivering for our customers no matter the circumstance. We never want to disappoint, and feel these schedule adjustments will help ensure we can take good care of our customers and team members and minimize surprises at the airport,” Day continued.

Travelers in North Texas and around the country are scrambling to find alternate transportation after American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights this past weekend and on Monday.

It’s a trend that will continue.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has canceled flights through mid-July. There were more than 120 flights canceled on Saturday, June 19, and more than 160 flights canceled the following day.

In fact, the current projection is for between 50 to 80 flight cancellations per day until at least July 15.

According to the airline, the cancellations are due to labor shortages, an increase in customer demand and bad weather.

“The first few weeks of June have brought unprecedented weather to our largest hubs, heavily impacting our operation and causing delays, canceled flights and disruptions to crew member schedules and our customers’ plans,” American Airlines spokeswoman Stacy Day wrote in a statement to Spectrum News. “That, combined with the labor shortages some of our vendors are contending with and the incredibly quick ramp up of customer demand, has led us to build in additional resilience and certainty to our operation by adjusting a fraction of our scheduled flying through mid-July.”

Customers whose flights have been canceled through July 15 will receive a notification so they can make other plans, the airline reported.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the airline furloughed thousands of employees.

The airline in October 2020 reported about 12,500 employee departures and early outs and anticipated roughly 19,000 involuntary staff reductions total. That included 17,500 furloughs and 1,500 involuntary separations on the management side.

American Airlines in April reported it lost $1.25 billion in the first quarter and continued to slash costs, including delaying delivery of new jets as it waited for air travel to recover from the pandemic.

More than a year ago, when the pandemic was just starting to hit the U.S., American lost $2.24 billion.

“Our focus this summer ― and always ― is on delivering for our customers no matter the circumstance. We never want to disappoint, and feel these schedule adjustments will help ensure we can take good care of our customers and team members and minimize surprises at the airport,” Day continued.