Airlines cancel hundreds of flights before summer travel season because of pilot shortage
Faced with staffing shortages, airlines are canceling thousands of flights heading into the busy summer travel season.
Faced with staffing shortages, airlines are canceling thousands of flights heading into the busy summer travel season.
Leading the trend has been Southwest Airlines, which has cut nearly 20,000 flights, according to a report from The Dallas Morning News. Its goal is to hire 10,000 new workers this year.
“I go through the Whataburger drive-thru and I pay and get my bag, and stapled to the bag is a job application,” Southwest CEO Robert Jordan joked this year. “That’s what it’s come to.”
Especially acute has been the shortage of pilots. According to one flight consultancy, U.S. airlines are trying to hire at least 12,000 pilots combined this year.
“The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on a quarterly earnings call in April.
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