Holidays could be a nightmare for many airline passengers

As airlines grapple with their operations after pandemic disruptions, analysts predict a stressful holiday period.

Thousands of Southwest and American Airlines customers had their flights delayed and cancelled in June, while in August the Spirit Airlines pulled hundreds of flights off their schedule over several days. This weekend, Southwest Airlines had again was having problems - cancelling and delaying more than 2,000 flights.

Travel analysts told the Washington Post that Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years'trips could become very difficult for travellers, given airlines ongoing difficulties.

I m concerned that it s going to be a very stressful holiday season when it comes to air travel, said travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group. It s already stressed with the potential for extremely crowded weather and, all in all, very terrible flights at Thanksgiving. Airlines have been under a lot of pressure after such dramatic changes in customer travel patterns, and as Richard Aboulafia explained an aviation analyst at Teal Group: The industry has never done this before, he said. It has never expanded or contracted like this. He recommended that anyone planning to travel in the next few months should plan for delays. Don t expect precision. Allow slack, he said.

In the event of a cancellation, Mr Aboulafia also advised sticking with carriers with the highest share of flights in a region to increase the chances of finding a seat on another flight.

The other complicating factor this season is that many airlines have imposed a vaccination mandate on staff that comes into effect on 8 December. On 24 November, the day before Thanksgiving, American Airlines and JetBlue s US staff have been told they must be fully vaccinated.

Federal Aviation Administration says the deadline could not be worse for airlines Pilots have to wait 48 hours after each dose before they can operate a flight, according to Harteveldt. In addition, many pilots, particularly Southwest - pilots, are pushing forward against the requirement altogether, meaning potential for short staffing problems in the near future.

Boyd Group International, president of aviation specialists Mike Boyd, said Southwest's issues were specific to its own operations but he also anticipated a painful travel season.

Consumers can look forward to the usual appalling chaos they re used to over the holidays, he said.