Here’s how American Airlines flight cancellations are affecting SC travelers
American Airlines’ cancellation of 1,750 flights over the weekend resulted in nightmares for travelers at the nation’s busiest airports but caused minimal problems for South Carolina’s three major airports.
Sarah Jantz, a spokesperson for American, said seven flights were canceled in South Carolina — four in Charleston, two in Greenville and one in Columbia.
In a statement, American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said gusty winds up to 50 mph at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Thursday created crosswinds that reduced the number of planes that could land there by half. The airline could use two of the five runways usually available.
“With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” he said.
In other words, flight attendants were not in the right places, and the airline had a shortage of pilots.
That caused the airline to cancel flights over the weekend, Seymour said, adding that most travelers were able to be rebooked on flights leaving the same day.
Michelle Newman, spokesperson for Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, said Sunday, “GSP’s operations are normal.”
The cancellations were considerably more pronounced in Charlotte, where 100 flights were canceled Sunday, 79 Saturday and 47 Friday, stranding thousands, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Seymour said he expects the staffing shortage to ease through the rest of the year, with nearly 1,800 flight attendants returning from leave beginning Monday. The airline said it expects to hire 4,000 people before year’s end in time for the busy holiday season, including reservation agents, pilots and technical personnel.
American’s problems were a repeat of Southwest’s from earlier in the month, when more than 2,000 flights were canceled due to weather in Florida and a shortage of personnel.
Southwest does not fly to Columbia, but it does fly to Charleston and Greenville.