A glitch in the American Airlines scheduling platform reportedly allowed pilots to skip thousands of trips as delays and cancellations derailed Fourth of July travel plans nationwide.
CNBC reported Saturday that more than 12,000 July flights lacked a captain, first officer, or both, because pilots were able to skip assignments through a glitch in the scheduling platform.
“They failed to get the IT systems running properly and there are no pilots on thousands of flights now,” said Dennis Tajer, captain of American Airlines and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. and pilot. ,
The airline has reportedly suspended the scheduling service.
“We understand these are important tools for our pilots and are working as quickly as possible. As we learn more, we will provide updates throughout the day,” American Airlines emailed pilots on Saturday.
CNBC reported that a similar problem occurred in 2017 and that pilots were offered 150% pay in exchange for taking on dropped flights.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, American Airlines said it does not expect the disturbance to have any “operational impact”.
“Our pilot trip trading system experienced a technical issue,” the statement said. “As a result of this technical glitch, some trip trading transactions could have been processed when it should not have been allowed. We have already reinstated most of the affected trips and do not anticipate any operational impact due to this issue .
The glitch comes as thousands of flights are delayed or canceled during the holiday weekend as airlines grapple with staff shortages.
More than 7,100 flights in and out of the United States were delayed and another 535 were canceled on Friday.
According to Airlines for America CEO Nicolas Calio, over the past week, thousands of flights have been disrupted, even though the carrier cut 15% of its flights from June to August during the peak summer months, making the remaining flights more reliable. For making.
