American Airlines to Drop Flights to 3 Cities Due to ‘Pilot Shortage’
Caden Pearson | June 20, 2022 | Updated: June 21, 2022American Airlines has announced it will end services to three U.S. cities in the fall citing a “regional pilot shortage.”
The three cities that will no longer be serviced by the airline are Toledo, Ohio; Ithaca, New York; and Islip, New York, according to an airline spokesperson.
“We’re extremely grateful for the care and service our team members provided to our customers in Islip, Ithaca, and Toledo, and are working closely with them during this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Hill. “We’ll proactively reach out to customers scheduled to travel after this date to offer alternate arrangements.”
The flights to the three cities will end on Sept. 7.
As U.S. travel demand surges, some airlines have struggled to rebuild their capacity to carry the large numbers of passengers wanting to travel, many for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.
Fox reported that airlines have reported in early June that
there is a shortage of around 12,000 pilots, resulting in a reduced number of flights as travel demand booms.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/american-airlines-to-drop-flights-to-3-cities-due-to-pilot-shortage_4546537.html
So of the 12,000 pilots, how many were let go because they refused the jab? And how many lost their certification during the period where government was discouraging air travel?