New Delhi: Americal airlines have to cancel hundreds of flights this weekend due to the shortage of staff caused by weather-related disruptions, AFP reported.
According to the FlightAware data, American airlines had cancelled 800 flights on Friday and Saturday and it is expected that more than 400 flights will be cancelled on Sunday.
The cancellation of the flights was caused as the strong wind storms began on Thursday blocking capacity at the company's Dallas hub and thus delaying the staff positioning for upcoming flights, American Airlines CEO David Seymour informed in a memo address to the staff.
He further adds that due to the additional weather issues, staffing "begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences."
It is expected that the operations will be restored quickly with the beginning of a new month, Seymour said.
Seymour further announced the return of 1,800 flight staff who have been on standby since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic and the recruitment of another 600 flight staff by the end of December 2021, along with 4,000 airport employees.
Most passengers affected due to the cancellations of the flights were able to rebook for the same day, said the airline, which operates 6,700 daily flights worldwide to 350 destinations in 50 countries.
With covid-19 vaccinations and lifting of restrictions, travel demands have soared up thus leading airlines to suffer staff shortages. As per the AFP report, American airline is not the first airline to cancel flights in wake of the shortage of staff.
Earlier last week, Southwest Airlines had to cancel over 2,000 flights, costing it $75 million.
(With inputs from AFP)