Nearly 100 American Airlines flight cancellations at DFW due to weather, under-staffing
Hundreds of American Airlines flights were canceled and delayed Saturday due to staffing problems and severe winds, the company said.
In a letter to staff members, David Seymour, chief operating officer, explained that due to wind gusts up to 50 mph on Thursday through the weekend, arrival capacity in Dallas-Fort Worth was cut by over 50%.
“This weather drove a large number of cancellations at DFW, as we could only use two runways instead of the usual five that handle our operation,” Seymour said, before adding that staffing had begun to “run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences.”
“To make sure we are taking care of our customers and providing scheduling certainty for our crews, we have adjusted our operation for the last few days this month by proactively canceling some flights,” Seymour said. “We are taking this measure to minimize any inconvenience as much as possible.”
The letter went on to continue that the airline plans to hire at least 600 new flight attendants by the end of the year and they’re expecting the return of nearly 2,000 flight attendants who were gone from leave.
“Additionally, hiring for our Airports is well underway and we anticipate 4,000 new team members joining us across the system in the fourth quarter,” Seymour said. “The hiring of pilots and within Tech Ops continues to take place, and we already began ramping up hiring in Reservations so more team members will be in place for the holiday season.”
Of over 500 canceled American Airline flights nationwide Saturday, 96 were canceled at DFW, a spokesperson for the airline said. The letter to employees said that most flights were re-booked for the same day.
