United Airlines Cuts Flight Schedule Due to Employee COVID-19 Cases

By Lydia Storks Leave a Comment

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

Recently, the rise of COVID-19 case numbers has been affecting quite a few things in the travel industry.

COVID-19 Health and Safety Sign

We have seen some events get canceled, some destinations crack down on health and safety measures, and supply chain issues that are affecting the theme parks. And now, it looks like the problems are continuing for certain airlines.

Today CNBC reported that United Airlines will be trimming down its flight schedule, mainly because of an influx in sick calls among employees. This was previously a problem during the holiday season, when COVID infections among employees and winter storms caused the company to cancel thousands of flights.

Orlando Airport

However, United Airlines isn’t the only airline that’s employing this strategy. JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines, and American Airlines have all confirmed that they will be doing the same. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby shared a memo with employees recently detailing this change, saying that the company is “reducing our near-term schedules to make sure we have the staffing and resources to take care of customers.” At the time when the memo was sent out, United Airlines had about 3000 workers who had tested positive for COVID-19. That amounts to about 4% of the company’s U.S. workforce.