FD

• Staffing Issues

  A cancellation problem that is under the airline's control, flights are being canceled due to labor shortage. This may include personnel in the air and on the ground.
• The two-year lockdown COVID-19 pandemic resulted in 80% of traffic being grounded, resulting in decluttering of personnel wherein at least 2.4 million people lost their jobs.
• During the lockdown, it became beneficial and economical for the airline industry because they only gave salary to less people.
• Older personnel who were retrenched already had their new job.
• Air Traffic Control Staffing


  An ATC facility that is understaffed can result in increased delay, reduced capacity and longer waiting time for pilots, passengers, and airlines which may lead to flight cancellations.
• Pilot Shortage


  During the pandemic, airlines lost a significant amount of pilots due to early retirement. They are struggling to hire, train, and retain enough pilots.
• In America, training pilots would cost around $150,000 or roughly 2.4 million pesos.
• Missing Crew


  Cancellation of flights may also occur if a member of the crew is missing for personal reasons such as medical emergencies, fatigue, unforeseen circumstances, regulatory issues, and etc.
• Strikes


  Occurs when a group of pilots, typically members of a union, refuse to work as a means of protest or to demand better pay, benefits, or working conditions. Pilot strikes disputes cause major impact on airlines which can result in flight cancellations, delays, and travel plan disruptions.
• Strikes

  • Spanish Union for Airline Pilots. Spain-based Easyjet: 3 72-hr strikes on July 2022, due to pay disputes. It affected 83,000 passengers. Also, refueling workers at Heathrow, a 3-day walkout for wages issues (Morgan, 2022).
• Computer Glitch/Power Outage


  Technology-associated fails when a computer glitch occurs in the system, the flight schedule of the entire airline is crippled and a multitude of flights are cancelled as a result.
• Computer Glitch/Power Outage


  • Server glitch at British Airways, causes 700 flights cancelled affecting 75,000 passengers in Heathrow, Gagut, Edinburgh (2018-19)(Local). On Atlanta, Delta Airlines global operations were severely impacted by power outage which impacted 1,600 flights for over 2 days (Trefis Team, 2016).
• Overbooking


  Maximizing profits through selling more tickets than seats available, which may cause flight cancellations on the passenger side. Disputes can cause cancellation of flights.
• Airlines are required by law to compensate passengers who were denied boarding. This can be in the form of rebooking, remunerations, vouchers, or cash.
• Low Passenger Demand


  Although it's rare for airlines to cancel flights because there aren't enough passengers on board, they do so because it is too big of an expense. It would be better to merge flights.
• Medical Emergencies


  Flight diversions are made so that passengers can receive treatments or care such as fainting, dehydration, motion sickness (minor) and heart attack, stroke, seizures (serious).
• Flight Preparation Activities


  Aircraft cleaning, baggage loading, and aircraft refueling is required before an aircraft to depart. If these important tasks were not completed properly or delayed, it may lead to cancellation of flights.
• Scheduled Maintenance


  An aircraft goes for regularly scheduled maintenance, so that a particular engine part must be replaced. Time beyond the scheduled maintenance session is needed to replace the part resulting in flight delay and cancellation as the aircraft cannot be put back into service.
• Mechanical Malfunctions that Impede Safety


  Although aircraft undergo scheduled maintenance, there are unforeseen issues that could have not been prevented. Flight would be delayed if that 'something' has reasonable amount to fix it, failure to do so leads to cancellation of flights.
• Disruptions caused by Aircraft Collisions


  May be unlikely to happen but is frequent to happen according to data. Approximately 13,000 birdstrikes per year in US alone. Flight cancellations are declared because airlines are required by law to follow standard operating procedures, such as checking conditions of the whole aircraft.
• Depending on the cause of cancellation, whether the airline is at fault or not, the carrier will face obligation towards these passengers. Based on Economic Regulation No. 9 of the Civil Aeronautics Board, entitled Air Passenger Bill of Rights, Chapter IV or the Right to Compensation which states that if the passenger is already at the airport before cancellation, the passenger has the right to compensation.
• Investors


  Flight cancellations may have no significant impact to investors due to routine maintenance or other planned events. But minimal cancellations equate to a positive indicator of the stability of a company's operations and may lead to increased investor confidence.
• Economy


  Airline cost increases = higher fares affecting leisure and travel industries who rely on air travel for their business. The indirect impact is the spillover on the rest of the economy, snowballing the already high costs of airlines.
• Reasons why flight delays occur

  • Technical Issues
  • Air Traffic Control
  • Scheduling and staffing issues
  • Security issues
  • Connecting flight
  • Late-arriving aircraft
  • Overbooking
  • Random events such as weather
• Air Carrier Delays


  It pertains to delays that the airline has control over. For example, problems with maintenance and crew, cleaning within the cabin, fueling and baggage loading could all contribute to a delayed flight.
• Extreme Weather Delays


  Severe weather conditions, whether forecasted or present, will likely keep aircraft on the ground.
• National Airspace System (NAS) Delays


  This includes non-extreme weather conditions, airport operations, heavy traffic volume, air traffic control, etc. NAS delays account for 24.5% of total delays and cancellations.
• Late-Arriving Aircraft Delays


  There delays occur when an aircraft scheduled to operate a flight arrives late, which can cause a delay in the departure of the subsequent flight.
• Security Delays


  Out of all the different types of flight delays, security is the most critical as it's a result of terminal or concourse evacuation, a security breach on an aircraft, long lines at screening areas, or defective screening equipment.
• Weather Monitoring


  Almost every shift begins with a thorough check of the day's weather and the remainder of the shift includes an intermittent check to see if the weather has changed at all.
• Airlines must prioritize the safety of the passengers and crew. If the weather is too severe they may have to delay or cancel flights.
• Thunderstorm


  A thunderstorm is a rain shower during which you hear thunder. Since thunder comes from lightning, all thunderstorms have lightning. This is formed if rising unstable air, moisture, and lifting mechanism is present.
• Thunderstorm Severity


  A thunderstorm is classified as "severe" when it contains one or more of the following: Hail (1 inch or greater), Wind gusting in excess of 50KTS, Tornado.
• Gust Fronts


  A line of dangerously gusty winds created by certain weather conditions such as thunderstorms. It is extremely turbulent, and it can rapidly change wind direction and speed.
• Microburst


  A localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm and is usually less than or equal to 2.5 miles in diameter. Microbursts can cause extensive damage at the surface, and in some instances, can be life-threatening.
• Lightning


  It is caused by a discharge of electricity that typically occurs in mature thunderstorms. When lightning hits an aircraft, there will be a mandatory inspection for damage, which can delay flights.
• Tornadoes


  Supercell thunderstorms can produce tornadoes. A supercell is a severe storm with rotation, this is associated with wind shear, which poses risks to aircraft.
• Aviation Accident

  • June 25, 2006, the pilot of a Piper PA-34 Seneca attempted to fly through a line of convective activity over Tafton, PA. The extreme turbulence from a developing thunderstorm ripped the aircraft to pieces, killing the pilot and his two passengers. Witnesses said debris from the disintegrated airplane continued falling for up to 10 minutes after the encounter. Several large pieces of the aircraft were never found.
• Wind


  The wind is the movement of air caused by uneven heating of the Earth by the Sun.
• Aviation Accident (Wind)

  • FlyDubai Flight 981 - wind as a possible cause of fatal plane crash in Russia (Nechepurenko, 2016). A Boeing 737-800 from the United Arab Emirates with 62 people on board crashed early Saturday while trying to land at the airport in the Southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Governor Vasily Golubev, said strong winds appeared to have caused the crash.