RYAN MURPHY/REUTERS
The COO of American Airlines didn't "mince words" in a new letter about the impact of recent flight cancellations.
In the letter sent to employees on Monday morning, Chief Operating Officer David Seymour addressed the ongoing government shutdown, now the longest in US history.
"I won't mince words: This weekend's operation was incredibly challenging for our industry, for our customers, for our airline and for you, our team members," he wrote, adding that the weekend saw "nearly 1,400 cancellations and more than 57,000 delay minutes attributed to air traffic control." About 250,000 customers were affected by the cancellations and delays, according to the letter.
"This is simply unacceptable, and everyone deserves better," Seymore said. "Our air traffic controllers deserve to be paid and our airline needs to be able to operate at a level of predictability and dependability that no major airline was able to provide the flying public this weekend."
He added, "Our team is in regular conversations with government leaders in Washington, D.C., and we are urging them to reach a deal immediately. There was concrete progress last night on a deal, but there are many steps ahead, and the next several days will continue to be challenging."
On Sunday night, the Senate reached an agreement to support an initial series of bills that will fund various government departments and initiatives, including SNAP benefits. The bills still need to be debated in the Senate and approved by the House of Representatives for the shutdown to officially end.
Air travel across the US descended into chaos over the weekend after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to reduce their flight operations. Air traffic controllers are increasingly calling in sick after more than 40 days without pay.
The FAA said it will mandate airlines to cut flight operations by up to 10% at 40 major airports nationwide by November 14, up from an initial 4% reduction that began Friday.
On Monday, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to recommend a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who haven't called out sick. He also suggested that those who have taken sick days will be "substantially docked."
On Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a "substantial" number of Americans will have their Thanksgiving travel plans affected if the shutdown doesn't end soon.
"Virtually none of them can miss two paychecks," Duffy said about air traffic controllers on CNN's "State of the Union." "So they're going to be confronted with the idea of, as you mentioned, going to get a side job, a second job to make ends meet,"
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
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