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Oct. 31 (UPI) -- American Airlines canceled 917 flights Sunday, which is 33% of its operations, and nearly 1,800 over three days, according to data from flight tracking website FlightAware. Severe winds in Dallas-Fort Worth on Friday and Saturday led to cancellations at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the Fort Worth-based company's major hub. In addition, the airline cited staffing issues.
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By contrast, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines canceled 193 of its flights on Sunday, which is 5% of operations and 87 on Saturday, according to FlightAware. The airline flies out of Love Field in Dallas.
American canceled 342 flights Friday or 11% of its operations, according to tracking site FlightAware. On Saturday, American Airlines grounded another 516 flights, 19% of operations.
The airline said in a statement to KTVT, the local CBS affiliate, that severe winds in North Texas exacerbated staffing shortages and cut arrival capacity by more than half at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. American Airlines said in the statement it was limited to two runways at the airport, which serves as an important hub, instead of five.
"We are taking this measure to minimize any inconvenience as much as possible," American Airlines said in the statement. "Most of the customers impacted by these changes are being rebooked the same day, and we apologize for having to make these changes."
The airline said that it expects to ramp up staffing in the coming months. Over 600 new flight attendants will be hired and 1,800 will return from leave starting Nov. 1. Another 4,000 new employees working in various positions will be hired in time to accommodate holiday travel.
After seeing a drop in travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines have faced particular challenges in bouncing back. Earlier this month, Southwest Airlines reported $75 million in losses related to weather, air traffic control and staffing difficulties.
UPI writer Jake Thomas contributed to this report.
