Passengers at Orlando International Airport had to deal with flight cancelations from American Airlines over the weekend, something that is happening nationwide.
The airline said more than 1,000 flights were canceled nationwide.
“I was actually at the gate and they said ‘your plane has landed and we’ll be boarded soon’ and then they canceled it,” said Jane Mason, whose flight to Charlotte was canceled.
American Airlines said it canceled more than 1,800 flights nationwide since Friday, including about 43 canceled flights here at OIA since Saturday night.
“It’s been extremely inconvenient,” said Tammie Phipps, who is traveling to Washington, D.C. “I’m actually here in Orlando finishing my treatments for cancer. I’m a veteran and it’s kind of ruined the trip.”
Vincenzo Scorpio is trying to make it to San Diego by Monday morning for special surgery on his ankle after a jet ski accident, and it’s vital he gets there.
“I’ve been in this airport now for 23 1/2 hours and have about three hours to get myself together to go into surgery,” he said.
American Airlines is blaming weather issues and staffing shortages for the cancelations.
“To make sure we are taking care of our customers and providing scheduling certainty for our crews, we have adjusted our operation for the last few days this month by proactively canceling some flights,” the airline said in a statement.
A spokesperson said they expect considerable improvement beginning Monday.
Some passengers are finding some comfort in this.
“I asked them to refund my flight and they said they would,” Mason said.
American Airlines said in a statement late Sunday they will continue to increase their staff and more workers are set to return in the coming months, including more than 1,800 flight attendants who will return from leave beginning Nov. 1.
They added that the remainder of flight attendants on leave will return Dec. 1 and they expect to have more than 600 new flight attendants by the end of that month.