To better meet the growing demand, American Airlines canceled its flights

Faced with a sharp rise in airline ticket sales and challenges related to the economic recovery in the United States, American Airlines was forced to cancel more than a hundred flights this weekend and plans to cancel its scheduling again in July.

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Since the beginning of June, the air carrier has had to manage the repercussions of bad weather on its operations, which has caused delays, occasional cancellations, and disruptions to its staff schedules.

At the same time, some subcontractors and suppliers are facing staff shortages.

The company said in a letter to AFP that all this is against the background of a “very rapid” acceleration in customer demand.

While sales of airline tickets declined during the pandemic, they began to rise in the spring, as the vaccination campaign continued in the United States.

Since June 11, the number of people who pass through a US airport regularly has exceeded two million people per day, which has not happened since March 2020.

Therefore, the company decided to strengthen its ability to cope with unforeseen events “by adjusting a small part of the flight program by mid-July”.

It canceled about 150 flights as a result on Saturday and plans to cancel about 1% of its flights in July.

While air traffic is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels in the US, US airlines must adapt after a complex year, during which they incurred billions in losses and had to go separate ways, at least temporarily, for thousands of employees.

American Airlines has tried to mitigate the consequences of cancellations by targeting flights for which there are “multiple options” to replace.

“Our goal this summer is – as always – to satisfy our customers, whatever the circumstances,” the company says. “We do not want to be disappointed and believe that these adjustments will allow us to take good care of our customers and employees and reduce surprises at the airport.”