On September 7, the services will be stopped
American Airlines is cutting down flights heading to four cities in the USA. This is due to pilot shortages in regional cities. The four US cities where American Airlines won’t be flying are Dubuque in Iowa, Islip and Ithaca in New York and Toledo in Ohio. Bad weather and covid-19 travel restrictions had a major impact on the tourism industry. On September 7, the services will be stopped.
In a statement, American said, “We’ll proactively reach out to customers scheduled to travel after this date to offer alternate arrangements.” Not just American Airlines, other airlines including United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have stopped providing services to smaller cities citing the same reason – shortage of regional pilots. Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines have ceased providing services temporarily.
As travelling is boosting and reaching the pre-pandemic level, bigger cities are taking away regional pilots to provide services to airlines. With the return of summer travel, airlines are focusing more on bigger cities which provide access to different other smaller cities. This is thus leading to staff shortages in regional districts and cities.
However, services to other airports in other cities are still active. American Airlines will serve flights to other cities which are 45 miles and 120 miles away.
What Are The Other Options?
Travellers can check for the availability of flights in other bigger airports. According to a report, tourists who usually fly out of Dubuque can now catch a flight out of Quad Cities International Airport about 70 miles away, or at Eastern Iowa Airport 80 miles away. Travellers heading to New York can check out important airports in New York, Buffalo Niagara International Airport or Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Tourists travelling to Toledo will have to take a flight to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.