Festive flights to US threatened

THOUSANDS of Britons booked on flights to the US over the festive period face an anxious wait amid fears that a temporary shortage of pilots at American Airlines will cause it to cancel flights.

The world’s biggest airline is scrambling to avoid a repeat of the recent Ryanair cancellation crisis, after it gave too many pilots time off.

American Airlines pilots who had booked time off from December 17 to 31 are now being offered 150 per cent of their hourly rate to work.

The Allied Pilots Association has warned of a ‘crisis’ but American Airlines, which averages 19 flights a day from Heathrow to the US, said it was ‘working diligently’ to solve the problem and expects to avoid cancellations.