Thousands of Flights Canceled Amid Staffing, Weather Issues

A passenger looks at a departures board at Sheremetyevo airport, after Russia closed its airspace to airlines from 36 countries in response to Ukraine-related sanctions targeting its aviation sector, in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Stringer/Reuters)

Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed worldwide over the weekend amid a litany of reported issues.

Overall on April 9, more than 2,400 flights were canceled and 9,100 were delayed worldwide, FlightAware data show. About 7,000 flight delays and 2,235 cancelations were reported on April 10.

Spring Airlines and China Eastern saw the most with 365 and 663 cancellations, respectively, the April 10 data show.

On April 9, some 700 JetBlue flights were canceled to and from Boston because of severe weather, technical problems, and staffing issues, a spokesperson told local media. On April 10, more than 140 flights were canceled and 260 were delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

“Despite hiring more than 3,000 new crewmembers already this year, like many businesses, we remain staffing constrained and these disruptions exacerbate an already challenging staffing situation,” a spokesperson said.

JetBlue, meanwhile, is going to make “a small schedule adjustment through the rest of the month,” the statement added. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for these disruptions, and we are working to cancel flights in advance whenever possible so they have time to adjust their plans and do not need to show up to the airport.”

Spirit Airlines saw about 106 of its U.S. flights canceled on April 10 and more delayed, FlightAware’s website shows. On April 9, more than 115 Spirit Airlines flights were canceled, according to FlightAware data.

Alaska Airlines reported 43 cancellations on April 10 as of 6 p.m. ET, the data show.

In a statement, the airline pinned the cancelations and delays on a shortage of pilots amid heated talks between Alaska Airlines and its pilot union.

“The primary driver for cancellations is the shortage of pilots available to fly versus what was planned when we built our April schedule in January,” a company spokesperson told the Seattle Times. “Across the industry, airlines are seeing a strain on pilot capacity as air travel demand returns, airlines are all hiring, and we are hiring faster than we’re able to hire and train new pilots.”

More than half of Southwest Airlines’ April 9 flights were delayed or canceled, according to a Twitter post from the company, due to “an intermittent technology issue, as well as ongoing weather challenges.”

About a week ago, thousands of weekend flights were canceled or delayed across the country because of similar issues, including technology problems.