A glitch in a scheduling platform allowed\u00a0American Airlines\u00a0pilots to drop thousands of trips in July last night, their union said Saturday, a headache for the airline as it tries to\u00a0minimize flight disruptions<\/a>\u00a0during a\u00a0booming<\/a>\u00a0travel season.<\/p>\n American confirmed the issue and said it didn\u2019t expect the problem to affect its operation, including during the July Fourth holiday weekend.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAs a result of this technical glitch, certain trip trading transactions were able to be processed when it shouldn\u2019t have been permitted,\u201d the airline said in a statement. \u201cWe already have restored the vast majority of the affected trips and do not anticipate any operational impact because of this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 12,000 July flights lacked either a captain, first officer or both, after pilots dropped assignments, the Allied Pilots Association said earlier.<\/p>\n Pilots can routinely drop or pick up trips, but time off in the summer or holidays is hard to come by for airline employees as schedules peak to cater to strong demand.<\/p>\n On Saturday alone, American had more than 3,000 mainline flights scheduled and they were 93% full, according to an internal tally. Flights left unstaffed, however, are an additional strain on any airline.<\/p>\n The glitch occurred during a rocky start to the Fourth of July weekend when thunderstorms and staffing issues caused\u00a0thousands of U.S. flight delays<\/a>\u00a0and hundreds of cancellations.<\/p>\n American and its pilots\u2019 union, whose relationship has been fraught, are in the middle of contract negotiations and the airline most recently offered nearly\u00a017% raises through 2024<\/a>. The union\u2019s new president, Capt. Ed Sicher, began a three-year term on Friday.<\/p>\n American\u2019s pilots have picketed recently against grueling schedules, something they want to be addressed in a new contract. Pilots at\u00a0Delta\u00a0and\u00a0Southwest\u00a0have picketed in recent weeks for similar reasons.<\/p>\n American said it has suspended a platform that allows pilots to change their schedules while it investigates the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand these are important tools for our pilots and are working as quickly as possible. We will provide updates throughout the day as we learn more,\u201d American told pilots in an email Saturday.<\/p>\n Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, said the company failed to keep the IT system working properly and creating \u201cuncertainty for passengers and pilots.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_focal-760x428,f_auto,q_auto:best\/mpx\/2704722219\/2022_06\/1656630719082_nn_tco_delta_pilots_picket_travel_chaos_220630_1920x1080-r7kbt9.jpg\")
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