The travel industry at large has some problems. The height of the pandemic saw air traffic reach record lows. In the United States, we’d last se

American Airlines Can’t Find Enough Employees To Keep Planes Flying, Flights Cancelled

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2021-06-22 15:00:10

The travel industry at large has some problems. The height of the pandemic saw air traffic reach record lows. In the United States, we’d last seen air traffic lows reach those numbers following the events of September 11th, but even that didn’t cause as many troubles for airlines as the pandemic has. Now, Americans are leaving their homes again. They’re ready to get back out there and travel. But while people may be booking new flights left and right, there’s actually no guarantee that flight will happen. Now, American Airlines says they are being forced to cancel their flights in huge numbers and they expect that to keep happening well into July. They aren’t sure what will happen after that.

The American Airlines cancellations are partially due to not having enough staff, and partially due to maintenance issues. Over the recent weekend, they cancelled 123 flights on Saturday, 178 on Sunday, and more than 100 by mid-day on Monday. They expect to cancel between 50 to 60 flights a day for the rest of June and 50 to 80 a day throughout July, according to what American Airlines representatives told ABC World News Now. During the air traffic lows of the pandemic, most airlines and the TSA offered employees buyouts and early retirement. Now, they’re painfully understaffed and unable to resume business as normal. This is terrible timing as well, since the fourth of July weekend usually sees heavy travel.

The maintenance issues are somewhat predictable. Many planes have been sitting on the runway not being used as often as they should. Now, they need work. And they need work to be done on them by employees, which American Airlines doesn’t have enough of. Of course, the airline also needs ticketing agents, flight attendants, and more to keep their airline running.

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