Vacation in jeopardy: US airlines cancel thousands of summer flights due to lack of pilots

Faced with staff shortages, airlines are canceling thousands of flights ahead of the busy summer travel season. NBC News.

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Southwest Airlines has cut almost 20 flights. Her goal is to hire 000 new workers this year.

“I walk through the Whataburger Drive-Thru, pay and get my order, and the job application is attached to the package,” says Southwest CEO Robert Jordan. “That's what it's come to.”

The shortage of pilots is especially acute. American airlines are trying to find at least 12 pilots this year, according to one consulting agency.

“Pilot shortages in the industry are real and most airlines will simply not be able to meet their capacity plans because there are simply not enough pilots. And that will be the case for the next five-plus years,” said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.

Meanwhile, Delta said it was canceling 100 daily flights from July 1 to August 7 in the US and Latin America.

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Pilot unions such as the Air Line Pilots Association dispute the shortfall, citing data showing nearly 12 new commercial pilots have been certified in the past 8000 months. They argue that service cuts are instead being used as an excuse to boost profits by reducing training and safety requirements.

But most pilots with commercial licenses can't fly passenger flights, said Keith Darby, president of KitDarby.com Aviation Consulting. Getting people ready to fly even for regional carriers can take up to five years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Darby said.

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Smaller airlines and routes are bearing the brunt of the shortage, Darby said. He cited the example of SkyWest Airlines, a Utah-based airline with a hub at Los Angeles International Airport, which said in April it had lost 5 percent of its pilots to larger carriers.

“We have a very serious problem,” Darby said. — Delta, United, American choose the most profitable routes. All other routes are reduced or cease to be serviced completely.

Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, which flies for American, United and shipping logistics company DHL, lost millions of dollars in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 due to flight cuts.

“If we don’t fly our planes, we will lose money,” Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein said.

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