American Airlines and Spirit Airlines have cancelled over 1,300 flights in what’s being called a perfect storm of troubles for the carriers.
The airline industry is having a rough summer. Travel boomed when Covid restrictions were relaxed, but unfortunately for both airlines and travelers, it’s been hard to keep up with demand.
Between Sunday and Monday, severe thunderstorms hit American’s Dallas/Fort Worth International hub, reports CNBC. Travelers found themselves stuck at various airports while American canceled 850 flights and delayed another 2,000
Battles with bad weather have lasted most of the summer, with the airline cancelling hundreds of flights through the middle of July due to what the carrier says is a mix of maintenance, a labor shortage and unprecedented bad weather.
As of Tuesday morning, another 270 American Airlines flights are canceled with 120 of them citing a lack of a crew. These 270 flights make up about nine percent of American’s daily schedule. It seems like the airline just can’t catch a break.
Things aren’t much better for Spirit Airlines. Between Sunday and Monday, Spirit canceled 500 flights, citing “operational challenges” as the cause. Another 258 flights are cancelled as of Tuesday morning. The hit to Spirit’s schedule is even worse, as the 258 flights add up to 38 percent of its daily schedule.
Some say they didn’t even get a notification before heading to the airport:
Meanwhile, as Good Morning America reports, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.2 million people at airports on Sunday, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic.
Spirit elaborated on its issues and they’re similar to what American is dealing with, from Good Morning America:
A Spirit spokesperson told ABC News the cancellations are the result of a “perfect storm,” blaming weather, staffing shortages and crews reaching the hour limits in which they are legally able to fly.
All of this is happening just as the COVID-19 Delta Variant threatens to put the speed brakes on the recovering industry.
Even over 1,300 cancelled flights add up to a small percentage of the airline industry’s total flights. But be sure to check the status of your flight before heading to the airport.