American Airlines

Over 1,500 flights cancelled by American Airlines for shortage of crew

Share

US carrier American Airlines had to cancel nearly 1,500 flights since Friday due to understaffing triggered by severe weather disruptions.

American Airlines general manager David Seymour said in a note to staff on Saturday that the difficulties began Thursday with severe windstorms that blocked the capacity of the airline’s hub in Dallas and delayed staff for the next flights.

He evokes the difficulties in finding pilots and flight personnel and hopes that operations will be reestablished “at the beginning of the month” before the return of 1,800 flight personnel who had been on standby since the pandemic and the hiring of 600 others “by the end of December”, among others.

Most of the affected travellers were able to get another reservation for the same day, says the company, which operates 6,700 daily flights around the world to 350 destinations and 50 countries.

The American Airlines case is not isolated: last week, Southwest Airlines had to cancel more than 2,000 flights, costing it $75 million.

And in Belgium, Brussels Airlines cancelled seven flights during the busy All Saints long weekend.

UPDATE

American Airlines cancelled more flights on 01 November 2021 to push the total number to nearly 2,300, blaming the weather and staffing-led issues.

This post was published on 1 November 2021 13:43

André Orban

M. Sc. Engineering

Published by
André Orban

Recent Posts

Air Tahiti receives 26-seat all-business ATR 72-600 for premium island services

Air Tahiti has taken delivery of an ATR 72-600 fitted with a HighLine All-Business Class…

14 October 2026

Liège Airport passes one million tonnes as exports offset parcel-tax impact

Liège Airport handled more than one million tonnes of cargo in the first nine months…

14 October 2026

Air Canada to launch Montréal–Seville flights with A321XLR in September 2027

Air Canada will launch seasonal non-stop flights between Montréal and Seville on 8 September 2027,…

14 October 2026

LOT and Thai Airways plan codeshare partnership for summer 2027

LOT Polish Airlines and Thai Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish codeshare…

14 October 2026

Portugal selects Lufthansa for TAP stake sale, with further privatisation possible by 2028

Portugal’s government has selected Lufthansa Group as the preferred buyer in TAP Air Portugal’s partial…

14 October 2026

Brussels Airport handles 2.36 million passengers in September as cargo volumes continue to grow

Brussels Airport welcomed 2,361,512 passengers in September 2026, an increase of 3.9% compared with the…

14 October 2026