Nearly half of all American Airlines flights were cancelled Sunday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as the airline says it struggles to cope with weather conditions and staffing shortages across the country.
Sixteen of its flights were cancelled and four were delayed as of 1:30 p.m. Sunday, accounting for 47 percent of American Airlines flights coming in and out of the airport, according to FlightAware.com.
The troubles at IAH are part of a broader pattern of cancellations that have beset the airline on Halloween weekend, with 825 total flights cancelled and 260 delayed Sunday, nearly twice as much as the next-leading airline, China Eastern, which cancelled 485 flights. On Saturday, 543 American Airlines flights were cancelled, and 436 more were delayed.
In a letter sent to staff Saturday, the Fort Worth-based airline blamed the weather at Dallas/Forth Worth International airport, where many of their flights pass through, as a factor, saying that strong winds forced them to shut down three of their five runways. Staffing shortages also contributed to the issues, the letter said.
Dallas/Forth Worth saw the worst of the cancellations, with 311 flights eliminated Sunday.
American Airlines is the latest airline to face massive cancellations and delays as air carriers struggle to adjust to near pre-pandemic travel rates. Earlier in October, Southwest Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights nationwide due to weather and air traffic control issues.
American Airlines plans to bring back 1,800 flight attendants returning from leave Monday, and hire 4,000 new airport employees by the end of the year, the letter said.