Many American Airlines flights during the holiday season are at risk of being canceled due to a mistake in the company’s internal scheduling system that granted too many pilots time off. To address this issue, American Airlines is offering pilots 1.5 times their normal pay to cover the shifts. However, union representatives have pointed out that this extra pay is not covered by the existing contract, meaning the airline cannot guarantee this payment.
Currently, it is uncertain whether any flights will ultimately be canceled or delayed. According to Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, around 15,000 flights from December 17 through the end of the year are affected by this issue.
American Airlines released a statement expressing confidence that cancellations would be avoided. The company plans to collaborate with the Allied Pilots Association to ensure that pilots are taken care of and that customers reach their destinations during the holiday season.
The exact cause of the scheduling error is not yet known. Typically, the airline assigns flights to pilots, but pilots can use the internal system to drop or trade assignments. Under normal circumstances, the system wouldn’t approve a pilot’s request to drop a flight unless another pilot could cover it. However, due to the error, all drop requests were automatically approved, and an unusually large number of pilots took advantage of this loophole.
This information comes from the NYTimes.