JetBlue said it is canceling 8% to 10% of flights starting in May through the summer following a weekend of widespread cancellations it blamed on severe weather and an “already challenging staffing situation.”
JetBlue has delayed or canceled one in every five flights on Monday, according to the tracking website FlightAware.
JetBlue ‘planning more conservatively’
The shortage of pilots and crew is affecting other airlines as well, hamstrung by a surge in spring break travelers but less staff.
Alaska Airlines said last week it is “reducing about 2% of our total flights through the end of June to match our current pilot capacity.”
Delta Air Lines pilots are protesting the airline’s schedule that they say leaves them overworked.
JetBlue, headquarted in Queens, New York City, says it has hired more than 3,000 new crew members in 2022.
“While we believe April will continue to be challenging, we are bringing on hundreds of new crew members each week as we prepare for summer travel,” JetBlue said.
Top image: JetBlue planes wait at departure gates at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (Fred Prouser/Reuters).