As we fully expected, staffing shortages in the airline industry are starting to impact air travel significantly.
American Airlines is one of the airlines that has been struggling throughout the pandemic, and this weekend everything came to a head.
If reports are accurate, roughly 1,400 flights were canceled or delayed this weekend, stranding weekend travelers.
Big Shortages
Staffing issues were not the only problem, but they clearly played a significant role.
Friday, the airline had to cancel or delay 376 flights.
That number grew to 551 on Saturday and 480 flights on Sunday.
David Seymour, American’s chief operating officer, stated, “With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequence.”
According to Flight Aware, 617 of those flights were outright canceled.
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that most of the cancelations were due to staffing issues.
Most major airlines are still far below normal staffing levels and if vaccine mandates are put in place by OSHA, as is expected, this will only get worse.
While the majority of airline employees have been vaccinated, the number of unvaccinated staff is enough, especially among pilots, that it will create more problems for this industry.
Source: Fox Business
