Labor crunch and bad weather cause airlines to cancel over 700 U.S. flights

Shares of Delta, United, and American Airlines were down 2% to 3% in afternoon trade.

In the United States, airlines canceled over 700 flights on Monday. Adverse weather conditions and a shortage of staff were the main reasons the airlines could not keep up with a surge in the summer travel demand. There were a total of 747 cancellations as per the flight-tracking website Flightaware.com. Nearly 860 flights were canceled on Sunday. Delta Air Lines had over 200 cancellations, Republic Airways Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. had 196 and 122 flight cancellations, respectively, while American Airlines Group Inc. canceled 62 flights. American Airlines said the cancellations were largely due to weather and air traffic control initiatives designed to regulate traffic.

In Europe, recent airport lags have been blamed on a shortage of employees, like many workers, who were laid off during the pandemic, desert airport work for flexible working practices and other occupations. Even the U.S. regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), faces staff shortages. The FAA last week granted approval to temporarily cut Newark flights after the Chicago-based carrier petitioned for a waiver, citing airport construction and air traffic control staffing. Airlines for America, a trade group, said the FAA must ensure adequate air traffic control staffing to avoid further summer travel disruptions. Shares of Delta, United, and American Airlines were down 2% to 3% in afternoon trade.