American Airlines Canceled Thousands of Flights This Weekend
The cancellations continued on Monday.
Flight cancellations are the worst. Especially when they happen en masse on a holiday weekend. It means airports are going to feel apocalyptic, and plans will be canceled. American Airlines is the latest airline to have mass cancellations after Southwest flyers experienced a similar situation last month.
Since Friday, about 10% of its mainline flights have been canceled. On Friday, 343 flights were canceled, Saturday 548 flights were canceled, and Sunday 1,058 flights were canceled. By Monday, there were an additional 250 flights that were canceled.
According to American Airlines executive David Seymour, the cancellations were proactive. High winds and bad weather majorly contributed to the issue. The airline says it is working hard to address the issues and that 1,800 flight attendants are scheduled to return to work.
Many airlines have struggled with pandemic-related staffing issues, and unions have reported that management choices have negatively impacted travel schedules and caused more flights to be canceled.
As holiday travel picks up, you might need a backup plan, as airlines have to deal with higher demand levels.
Opheli Garcia Lawler is a staff writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.