Airlines dialing back summer flights

Travelers seeing fewer options as staff shortages continue

Travelers visiting South Florida had every right to be cranky this spring break season as airlines cancelled or delayed hundreds of flights over the weekends, citing staff shortages, bad weather and air traffic control issues.

Now, some air carriers serving the tri-county area are cutting back on flights so their depleted staffs can handle what the industry expects to be a continued surge in consumer demand for air travel. The goal, it seems, is fewer cancellations and better customer relations.

JetBlue Airways, one of the busiest carriers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, says it is trimming back flights by 8% to 10% for May and by similar reductions for the remainder of the summer.

“Despite hiring nearly 3,000 new crewmembers this year, like many businesses, we remain staffing constrained,” the company said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “Tight staffing makes it more difficult for us to recover when air travel is disrupted by bad weather and air traffic control delays. By reducing our flight schedule for the summer and continuing to hire new crewmembers, we hope to have more breathing room in the system to help ease some of the recent delays and cancellations that we’ve seen in the industry.”

Ultra-discounter Spirit Airlines, which is based in South Florida, said the company is “evaluating” its summer schedules in the face of challenges, but has yet to announce any plans, according to spokesman Erik Hofmeyer.

Smaller carriers such as Alaska Airlines, Allegiant and Sun Country have said they intend to slightly scale back their schedules, accord