American Airlines says it will trim its schedule by 1% through mid-July though this weekend’s cancellations were higher than that amount.
American Airlines said it canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend due to staffing shortages, maintenance and other issues, as travel demand surges toward pre-pandemic levels.
About 6% of the airline’s mainline schedule, or 190 flights, were canceled on Sunday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The airline said that equaled about 3% of its total flights, including those operated by regional carriers. On Saturday, about 4% of its mainline schedule, or 123 flights, were canceled and 106 on Monday, FlightAware showed.
American said it is trimming its overall schedule by about 1% through mid-July to help ease some of the disruptions, some of which it said resulted from bad weather at its Charlotte and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport hubs this month.
Airlines are scrambling to keep up with a spike in air travel demand as governments lift travel restrictions and allow more tourist attractions to reopen. Some returning travelers have complained about hours-long customer service hold times.
