The waves of cancellations that have plagued U.S. air travel over the past year are largely the fault of airlines, according to a new report by Congress’s Government Accountability Office. The report said that maintenance and crew shortages were to blame for much of the trouble.
While cancellations were most common among budget airlines, larger airlines including the three legacy carriers and especially Southwest Airlines were also heavily affected during the return to normal service and passenger levels.
Before the pandemic, the most common cause of cancellations was weather. During the pandemic, the airlines received $54 billion in government aid to keep flying, but many employees left without replacement or were laid off, and rehiring and training moved slowly.
The report did note that staffing levels are now higher than in 2019, and cancelations have dropped considerably so far this year.
