LAS VEGAS (KLAS)–American Airlines customers flying into Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and across the country are experiencing a big number of cancellations this weekend.
American Airlines canceled more than 1800 flights this weekend as it deals with weather issues in Texas and staffing shortages that started last week.
The disruptions were similar in their initial cause and size to problems suffered in early October by Southwest Airlines.
According to FlightAware, American had canceled more than 1000 flights, which is almost 36% of its schedule for the day. This comes after scrapping nearly 900 flights on Friday and Saturday.
A spokesperson for American said the airline expects considerable improvement starting Monday, although there will be “some residual impact from the weekend.”
“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,” David Seymour, the airline’s chief operating officer, said in a note to employees on Saturday.
Seymour said American was able to put most of the stranded travelers on other flights the same day.
By Sunday evening, American Airlines already had canceled nearly 200 Monday flights, according to FlightAware.
Earlier in October, Southwest canceled well over 2,000 flights after disruptions that started with weather problems in Florida and were compounded by staffing shortages.
Seymour said American is staffing up, with nearly 1,800 flight attendants returning to their jobs starting Monday and others on Dec. 1, and at least 600 new hires on board by the end of the year. He said the airline is stepping up hiring for other jobs including pilots and reservations agents in time for the holidays.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
