American Airlines to cancel service in 3 cities amid pilot shortage
PHILADELPHIA - Flight cancellations and delays have been affecting the entire airline industry, but now, it’s gotten more serious than just a delayed flight. There is a shortage of pilots and one of the largest airlines in our area is making drastic changes after an increase in flight delays and cancellations.
After a terrible weekend in the airports for people traveling for Father’s Day or Juneteenth celebrations, American Airlines is cutting its service from three cities in the U.S.
Chi Tarver, owner of Extra Vacations Travel Agency, says that American Airlines has decided to stop its service in Islip and Ithaca, New York and Toledo, Ohio. The airline says this change will take effect following Labor Day.
"I’m willing to bet the impact will be greater now than after Labor Day. What travelers should get used to doing for the foreseeable future is buffer in time, buffer in a lot of time. We saw, unfortunately, a lot of travelers miss cruises, miss weddings, miss graduations in the past couple of weeks, this whole month," said Tarver.
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Tarver suggests that people fly as early as possible so that they have the entire day to rebook in the event of a cancellation. She also suggests opting for beaches in the states rather than the Caribbean, at least for now while airlines work through the shortages.
Tarver’s biggest suggestion in the midst of all the airport chaos is to drive to your destination rather than fly as experts say that driving would be cheaper than rebooking a canceled flight for the same day.
"People who would catch a flight from NY, or Newark, to even Myrtle Beach should be open to take a 7, 8, 9-hour drive because it's quicker than the wait or delays or frustration," she said.
Airline experts predict that these issues will continue into the fall due to the gravity of the cancellations.
"There’s not much that can be done," said Tarver. "When they can, they rebook at little to no cost, but when it’s affecting thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands at some point all hands are in the air."
Travel experts advise anyone who has been offered vouchers from airlines as a result of a canceled flight, to not accept them because you could be giving up your right to other forms of compensation.