United Airlines Cuts Back on August Flights

A week after announcing plans to fly 25,000 flights in the month of August, United Airlines is trimming that back.

Citing rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the U.S. with resurgent hot spots in Florida, Texas and California, among other states, as well as restrictions on U.S. residents traveling to Europe, United revised its numbers.

Now, according to the aviation blog The Points Guy, United will operate about five percent less than that – about 23,750 flights – during the month of August.

That’s still less than half of the number of flights it flew last year in August, a dramatic indication of the bite the virus has taken out of airlines since the pandemic was declared in August.

The cuts were first reported by Reuters after United disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on July 7.

United’s vice president of domestic network planning Ankit Gupta said “We are being extremely flexible in being able to move our capacity around,” and noted that further adjustments could take place.

The Points Guy speculated that could happen at Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, noting that the states of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming from such states as Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas, where COVID-19 cases have spiked again.