By Nicholas P. Brown

(Reuters) – American Airlines (NASDAQ) cancelled nearly 850 domestic flights and international flights Sunday due to staff shortages and adverse weather conditions. The total number of cancellations has risen to 1,739 since Friday.

American Airlines, the largest international airline company, spokeswoman. She said that 848 of the total flights had been canceled as of Sunday at 3:00 PM EST (2000 GMT). This is more than 16%. American cancelled 548 of its flights Saturday while 343 were cancelled Friday. As the day progresses, Sunday’s number could fluctuate.

A letter was sent to workers on Saturday by the Fort Worth-based firm. It stated that strong winds had caused more than half of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s capacity to be reduced. Inclement weather also means that “our staffing starts to run tight as the crew members end up getting out of their normal flight sequences,” according to the letter.

Due to the severe decline in air travel demand, airlines have had to be tight with their staffing. Many are now returning to normal.

American stated in Saturday’s letter that nearly 1800 flight attendants were returning to work on Monday. More than 600 new flight attendants would be joining the airline by the end.

Some employees had been offered voluntary time off to assist with weathering the pandemic. According to a spokesperson for the company, 17,500 people were also laid off, although they have now returned to work.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE 🙂 Co. has stated that it’s hiring aggressively and aims to hire 5,000 more workers before the end 2021.

Southwest cancelled almost 2,400 flights within three days in March. It blamed bad weather and problems with air traffic control in Florida.