‘Scheduling glitch’ leaves 15,000 flights in jeopardy this Christmas

Could be bad news for anyone flying with this airline.

A system error with American Airlines has resulted in the possible disruption of over 15,000 flights this holiday season. The scheduling error resulted in pilots bidding for time off based on their seniority, however, it has now left thousands of flights without pilots for the last two weeks of December. Allied Pilots Association (APA) says that many American Airlines flights between December 17 and 31 have yet to be assigned pilots due to the mistake.

A post shared by American Airlines (@americanair) on Oct 31, 2017 at 2:04pm PDT

Speaking to Reuters, APA’s Dennis Tajer said the issue was a ‘crisis’.

“Basically, there’s a crisis at American Airlines for manning the cockpits,” he told them.

Pilots were reportedly told of the mistake last Friday, with the airline now working tirelessly to avoid the disruptions. It is now being reported that the airline is offering pilots time-and-a-half to cover flights over the busy few weeks during the holidays.

“We have reserve pilots to help cover flying in December, and we are paying pilots who pick up certain open trips 150 percent of their hourly rate – as much as we are allowed to pay them per the contract,” American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said.

We're working hard and expect to avoid cancellations this holiday season.

— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) November 30, 2017

After reports of the error began to surface online, many concerned customers quickly questioned the airline about whether the issue would be resolved. The airline said:

“We’re working diligently to address the issue and expect to avoid cancellations this holiday season.”

American Airlines currently operates from Shannon, Dublin and Belfast airports.