American Airlines Cancels Hundreds of Flights, Cites Staff Shortages, Weather

American Airlines Group said Saturday it has canceled hundreds of scheduled flights over the weekend because of staff shortages and unfavorable weather conditions.

The airlines said it has so far canceled 500 flights Saturday and more than 300 flights for Sunday, in addition to 376 flights canceled Friday.

“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” the airlines said in a statement.

The company expects to get through this period of irregular operations soon, it said.

Heading toward the busy holiday travel season, carriers are trying to hire more employees.

American Airlines said it is increasing its staffing across all operations, with nearly 1,800 flight attendants returning from leave and more than 600 newly hired flight attendants coming on board by the end of December.

Southwest Airlines also said it was hiring aggressively, with the aim of having about 5,000 new employees by the end of this year.

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