Airlines facing travel woes due to lack of staff, summer storms and unruly passengers

DALLAS - The beginning of the summer travel season has been a tough one.            

Airlines have struggled to meet demand, they're short-staffed and have been forced to cancel flights. Southwest canceled thousands of flights over the weekend.

Then, there’s also the rise in unruly passengers.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association says they came into June and July with very little flexibility in staffing. And with the holiday weekend fast approaching, they are optimistic but admit the stress of delays and cancelations will unfortunately continue.

Video shows an unruly passenger being pulled from a Minneapolis-bound flight out of DFW Airport Tuesday morning. A passenger told FOX 4 the man refused to cover his nose with his mask and then refused to get off the plane, forcing an evacuation and a three-hour delay.

Violence onboard aircraft is at an all-time high. According to the FAA, 3,200 incidents have been reported just in the last six months.

The Transportation Security Administration is set to begin self-defense training next week for all flight crew members. 

"A lot of learning on the job of how we are having to handle the distraction and the stress," said Casey Murray with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.

The airline says the pent-up consumer demand is clashing with summer storms and staffing. About 1,500 pilots weren’t flying during the pandemic and need to be retrained.

"We have the staffing of pilots," Muray said. "We just don’t have all the pilots available." 

It’s been a 14-hour day for Jeff Lindberg. His Southwest flight was one of 1,300 delayed on Tuesday. More than 129 were canceled altogether. That's on top of thousands of disruptions this past weekend.

Now, the Fourth of July is right around the corner. 

"Going into the summer with very little margin when there are disruptions, it is a cascade effect that is occurring," Murray said.

Travel expert Rick Seaney doesn’t expect the cancellations and delays to let up. Fort Worth-based American Airlines canceled or delayed 700 flights on Tuesday alone. 

"The fact that if you do get canceled there is nowhere to put you for the next few days because every flight is completely full," he said.

Meanwhile, Lindberg is glad his day is finally over. 

"I am just happy to be down in Dallas now," he said.

Southwest Airline Pilots Association says there are federal rules that mandate how long pilots can work without rest. But as soon as they are cleared, they are back in the air. 

As for unruly passengers, according to the FAA, the number of incidents reported so far this year is equal to the number for each of the last 20 years combined.