LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Air traffic remained spotty on routes within and outside of the United States on Saturday, as airlines throughout the world slowly ramped up service four days after terror attacks in New York and near Washington grounded all U.S. flights and impacted flights worldwide.
Security at airports was tight as stranded Americans, some grieving for loved ones, lined up to head home. Many airlines, operating under increased financial pressure amid reduced demand for air travel, struggled to resume even half their normal daily flight schedule in the wake of Tuesday's hijackings of four U.S. commercial planes, three of which slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. (Read photo caption below)
Continental Airlines Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, on Saturday said it would lay off 12,000 employees and cut a fifth of its long-term routes due to the drastic decline in travel demand. Northwest Airlines Corp., the world's fourth largest commercial carrier, later said it would cut its systemwide flight schedule by 20 percent by Oct. 1 and would also review its overall staffing needs.
Just days earlier, regional U.S. carrier Midway Airlines, already struggling under the weight of bankruptcy, completely shut down, laying off 1,700 employees.
``Basically, we're flying,'' said Emilio Howell, a spokesman for American Airlines, the largest worldwide airline and a unit of AMR Corp.
``Right now we're trying really hard to return all the remaining flights to their original destinations.'' On Tuesday, 147 American flights were stranded, he said.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said it hoped to resume 50 percent of its daily flights on Saturday.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., the third-largest U.S. carrier, said it was aiming for 60 percent of normal daily service on Saturday.
United Airlines, the U.S.' second-largest airline and a unit of UAL Corp., said it hoped to have 500 flights in the air each day this weekend, ramping up to 1,000 by Monday. But that is still less than half the Chicago-based carrier's normal daily schedule of about 2,400 flights.
The resumption of flights was hampered by stepped up security measures in the United States and elsewhere. Most large U.S. airports were open, including the world's busiest, Hartsfield International in Atlanta, O'Hare in Chicago and Logan Airport in Boston, which had been closed Friday. However, Washington National, which sits near the Pentagon and the White House, remained closed.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Continential Airlines planes wait near the gate area of the Continental Airlines terminal at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, while a Continential commuter flight takes off (top) shortly after the airport was reopened September 14, 2001. Continental and Northwest Airlines said on September 15 that they will cut their long-term flight schedules by about 20 percent, with Continental also laying off 12,000 workers as bookings plunge and security costs rise. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine
- Sep 15 9:25 PM ET