Fourth Day Of Cancellations Top 2,300 Flights For American Airlines

Weather turbulence and staffing shortages have led to the fourth day of cancellations on Monday for American Airlines, bringing the number of total flight cancellations to almost 2,300.

"We expect considerable improvement beginning today with some residual impact from the weekend," company spokeswoman Sarah Jantz said in a statement, reports Reuters.

Severe winds at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are to blame for reducing the airline's arrival capacity by half, but the company hopes 1,800 flight attendants returning from leave starting Monday will mitigate some of its issues.

Airlines want to ramp up flights for the holiday season but some are having problems finding enough pilots and flight attendants in pandemic-related staffing shortages that have plagued multiple industries. Staffing shortages have also hit other airlines like Southwest and Spirit.

"Flight attendant staffing at American is strained and reflects what is happening across the industry as we continue to deal with pandemic-related issues," flight attendants' union Association of Professional Flight Attendants said to Reuters.

In addition to the approach of the holiday season, the U.S. is preparing to open borders to fully vaccinated travelers which will also strain the system. Airlines have also blamed the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate that makes it difficult to hire and keep employees.