Airlines Work To Rebound Flights After Major Weather-related Disruptions

American Airlines canceled 16% of its flights on Wednesday.

Severe winter weather across the country has impacted airlines and their crews and caused record numbers of flight cancellations and delays over the past several days, leaving travelers stranded and carriers in search of operational solutions.

American Airlines faced the highest number of weather-related cancellations in its 100-year history, leaving the company in desperate need of pilots and flight attendants to pick up extra shifts. 

As of time of publication, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier had cancelled 653 mainline and regional flights on Wednesday, with nearly 1,077 delays, according to FlightAware, a digital aviation company that provides real-time flight tracking data.

"Teams across American continue to work around the clock to fully restore our operation following the significant impacts from Winter Storm Fern. We are grateful to our team members for their tremendous efforts this past weekend and this week as we've worked through this storm to take care of our customers," a representative for American Airlines said in a statement to ABC News.

American offered employees incentives on Wednesday, including double pay for flight attendants and an additional five hours of pay for pilots as the airline works to restore operations.

According to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, some crew members have been left stranded and sleeping at airports, which has made it difficult to reach the scheduling department.

A DFW Airport worker clears a walkway in front of Terminal D check-in areas during a winter storm in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2026.

Jerome Miron/EPA via Shutterstock

"Winter weather impacting many of American's hubs since last Saturday has led to widespread cancellations. As the operation deteriorated, many Flight Attendant trips began 'breaking,' preventing crews from completing their scheduled routings," a representative for the union told ABC News. "When Flight Attendants are unable to obtain their required FAA-mandated rest, disruption compounds, and causes additional delays and cancellations the following day."

While the numbers for American are an improvement from Tuesday, they pale in comparison to competitors like United, which had cancelled 11 flights on Wednesday (as of publication) and Delta, which had cancelled 14, according to FlightAware.

As American continues to work toward stabilizing operations, its major airport hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is faced with difficult ramp conditions, gate congestion and other disruptions due to the dangerous ice conditions.

American Airlines said as operations resumed at DFW, "there has been a marked improvement in departures and arrivals," with expectations for more completed flights throughout the evening.

"Cancellations are not what we want for our customers or our team members, and teams across the airline are working diligently to minimize them," the airline representative said.

Travelers flying American are encouraged to check the airline's app online for the latest flight status, as well as utilize additional flexibility options detailed on the company's travel alerts page, which have been extended to Jan. 29.

Refunds for unfulfilled ancillary services

If airlines don't deliver on ancillary services such as Wi-Fi or lounge access, travelers can request refunds for those services.

24/7 customer service

Airlines are required to provide live customer service communication channels around the clock, whether through live chat or phone support.