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United Airlines may reduce its schedule at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and refine its crew-scheduling technology, following a week where the airline saw thousands of flight disruptions.<\/p>\n
“This has been one of the most operationally challenging weeks I’ve experienced in my entire career,” United CEO Scott Kirby wrote in a memo to staffers Saturday.<\/p>\n
The memo, which TPG obtained, outlined a series of next steps United plans to pursue in order to avoid another operational mess that comes close to a full-blown meltdown.<\/p>\n
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n Last week, United suffered<\/a> from mass cancellations and delays, stumbling into recovery after a series of thunderstorms in the Northeast<\/a> and air traffic limitations curtailed air travel in the region. Newark, one of United’s major hubs, also led in cancellations and delays last week.<\/p>\n While other airlines bounced back quickly after the thunderstorms, United struggled to swiftly return to normal operations, as staffing issues contributed to delays and cancellations for its flights across the country.<\/p>\n The memo attributed the carrier’s widespread disruptions to issues at Newark, saying that air traffic control shortages in American and Canadian airspace triggered a significant reduction in United’s departures per hour.<\/p>\n The thunderstorms in Newark shut down two departure routes United uses to fly out west out of the airport. Typically, when those routes are unavailable, United can take a detour through Canadian airspace. However, those routes were also closed, leaving the Chicago-based carrier with little recourse.<\/p>\n The level of disruptions United experienced at Newark cascaded into staffing shortages that further caused delays and cancellations well after the thunderstorms, since crews around the country were left out of place.<\/p>\n