United Airlines is dropping two more U.S. cities from its network

United Airlines is dropping two more cities from its network. Erie, Pennsylvania and Springfield, Illinois are being eliminated, which brings the total number of cities the airline has cut in recent years to 38.

The change was first seen in Cirium schedules and was subsequently confirmed by a carrier spokesperson, The Points Guy reported. The two most recent cities to be cut from the United Airlines network were served by United Express affiliate Sky West Airlines. Service to Erie will end June 1 and Springfield operations will cease as May 31.

In the airline’s statement reported by The Points Guy, the spokesperson said “United has made the difficult decision to suspend service between Chicago O’Hare and Erie, Pennsylvania and Springfield, Illinois…We’re proactively reaching out to impacted customers to discuss their options.”

Customers in the the markets will still have flight service from other carriers. American Airlines, for instance, provides service between Erie and Charlotte, North Carolina. American Airlines is also planning to initiate service between Springfield and Chicago. Allegiant also serves Springfield.

Some of the other cities United Airlines has dropped include Abilene, Texas; Clarksburg, West Virginia; Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Hilo, Hawaii, and Kearney, Nebraska, to name a few.

The cuts are being attributed to the pandemic and its fallout, which has left many airlines grappling with staffing shortages. As a result of the pandemic, airlines have eliminated some 69 U.S. cities fromt their networks, according to the aviation consulting firm Ailevon pacific.