Monday 8 August 2022 03:49 AM Flight attendant union rep. says US air travel is suffering a 'breakdown' trends now
US air travel is suffering a 'breakdown' and the 'job is not sustainable' for overstretched staff, a flight attendant union rep warns as American travelers are hit by another weekend of travel chaos with more than 1,000 cancelations.
America's airport nightmares continued on Friday as thunderstorms on the East Coast halted thousands of planes.
According to FlightAware, which tracks the status of flights around the world, 1,142 flights within, into or out of the United States were called off on Friday, while 3,944 flights were delayed.
Canceled flights on Saturday were totaled at 657 and had nearly doubled that number on Sunday by 8 p.m. with as many as 912 flights canceled and 6,512 delayed.
US flight attendant Allie Malis, who is also the government affairs representative at the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, a union representing American Airlines air crew, told CNN Travel her thoughts on the chaos.
'There's some kind of breakdown happening that I believe should be preventable,' Malis said.
She described 'uncomfortable' situations where crew members, having been delayed on incoming flights, would find themselves sprinting through the airport to make their next flight.
'Sometimes the passengers are cheering that you're arriving because it means their plane's going to go, or even that they're upset -- they think it's your fault that the flight has been delayed when you can't work two flights at once, although I'm sure the airlines wish we could,' Malis said.
Many airlines cut back and have operated with a skeleton staff for the better part of the last two years due to the pandemic. But now that travel demand is back, the airline industry is struggling to keep up.
According to FlightAware, which tracks the status of flights around the world, 1,142 flights within, into or out of the United States were called off on Friday, and 912 as of 8pm Sunday
America's airport nightmares continued this weekend starting with thunderstorms on the East Coast that halted thousands of planes on Friday
Southwest Airlines recorded the most canceled flights on Sunday, with 177 flights called off and another 1279 flights delayed
'The lack of staff, delays, cancellations, no baggage -- I think it's a very difficult situation for everybody,' Germany-based Lufthansa flight attendant Daniel Kassa Mbuambi told CNN Travel.
Mbuambi said the situation has led to strain on the crew, who have been sometimes forced to sleep in the airport while they wait for their next flights which are often operated with minimum staff onboard.
Malis added that when airlines suggest current issues are due to staff absenteeism, it's disheartening.
'It's kind of offensive that we're being blamed for any type of labor shortage or operational mismanagement, because the airlines have failed to adequately plan,' she adds.
The veteran flight attendant continued: 'Flight attendants are being maxed out, working the longest days we've had, with the shortest rest periods overnight that we've had and that does get you sick, that does lead to exhaustion and fatigue and weakens your immune system.'
Malis added: 'Why would anyone want to apply to be a flight attendant or any other airline worker when we're kind of getting worked to the bone?'
Summer air travel is always expected to stretch the system, but Malis hopes this fall could 'be a great opportunity to reset, to make sure our systems are working properly to handle high volumes of traffic.'
Travelers wait for their flight at Los Angeles International Airport as thousands of flights cancel
Travelers aired their frustrations on Twitter, with photos of long lines and hopes of getting to their destination on time. More than 1,000 flights were canceled over the weekend
One user tweeted about the customer service with American Airlines as they wait for help after their flight was canceled without promise of hotel or food vouchers
Another traveler tweeted about their Delta flight being canceled three times
Travelers wrote about being delayed hours in the airport and again on the plane
A traveler in Seattle tweets about being stuck on Sunday as 912 flights are canceled
Malis added that she believes the long-term solution would need to come with revamping the current air travel system.
'We, as flight attendants, we're right there with our passengers, we're in it with them, we feel their frustrations firsthand, if not even more, because this has happened to us so frequently, since we fly for a living,' Malis said.
'We want
