Pilot Shortage Forces American Airlines to End Service to Four Cities

Four small cities, all serviced by American Airlines regional carriers, are all coming off the flight schedule starting in September due to the ongoing pilot shortage.

Toledo, Ohio; Dubuque, Iowa; Ithaca, New York; and Islip, New York have been dropped as American and its regional subsidiaries – like virtually all airlines – struggle with a staffing shortage amidst an unprecedented surge in air travel. The four cities previously had two flights a day that took passengers to larger American Airlines hubs.

“We have 100 regional aircraft on the ground that we want to fly but can’t due to lack of regional pilots,” American Airlines spokesperson Brian Metham told USA Today. “Like many network carriers, we have reduced our regional flying in recent months in response to the regional pilot shortage.”

American said it will still operate flights from airports that are within 100 miles of the four cities that will lose their service on September 7.

American just came off a rough weekend in which it was forced to cancel numerous flights, a trend that will likely continue throughout the summer.