US carrier American Airlines canceled more than 1,400 flights over the weekend due to understaffing and unfavorable weather conditions. The company said it had canceled 551 flights on Saturday and 480 on Sunday, in addition to the 376 that already rolled off the board on Friday. According to FlightAware, a site that deals with route monitoring, another 1000 flights would have been postponed compared to the scheduled take-off time. With weather problems, the company explained, “our staff is starting to get tight because the crews finish working beyond their working hours”.
The “aggressive” hiring plans of companies
The company said it “expects” to move beyond this period of irregular operations quickly. As the winter holiday season approaches, airlines are trying to recruit as many staff as possible. American Airlines, in particular, said it is increasing its staff across all divisions, with approximately 1,800 flight attendants returning from leave and another 600 new hires expected on board by the end of December. Southwest Airlines is also hiring “aggressively”, with the aim of recruiting another 5,000 new employees by the end of the year. The company found itself in the same crisis that American Airlines experienced today for a period of three days, blaming the weather conditions and air traffic problems in Florida.