Topline
American Airlines canceled over 700 flights Sunday, as more than 1,200 flights were canceled by the airline on Friday and Saturday, one of the latest disruptions to the airline industry that’s been rife with cancellations and delays.
An American Airlines plane lands at the Miami International Airport on June 16, 2021 in Miami, … [+] Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
About 690 flights were canceled by the airline on Sunday, according to FlightAware, a service that tracks flight cancellations and delays.
On Saturday, American canceled 543 flights, according to FlightAware, and on Friday they canceled 738, CNN reported.
In a note to staffers Saturday, American COO David Seymour said that intense winds in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Thursday left crew members unable to make it to their subsequent destinations, CNBC reported.
But staffing availability was allegedly the main cause of Saturday and Sunday’s cancellations, according to CNBC.
Seymour said that he expected operations to return to normalcy in November.
As of press time, 37 flights on Monday had been cancelled by American, according to FlightAware.
Big Number
25%. That’s how many of American’s total flights were canceled on Sunday.
Key Background
American isn’t the only airline struggling. Earlier this month, Southwest cancelled over 2,000 flights, a disruption that cost them $75 million. CEO Gary Kelly insisted the disruption wasn’t linked to staff protesting the airline’s vaccine mandate, after widespread rumors spread that employees were against the rule that would leave them jobless if they did not get the shot. Kelly claimed that the issues were instead a result of a traffic management program imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Further Reading
Mass Flight Cancellations Cost Southwest Airlines $75 Million, Company Says (Forbes)
Southwest Airlines CEO Insists Flight Cancellations Not Linked To Covid Vaccine Protest (Forbes)