United Airlines Cancels 156 Flights in Chicago

C H I C A G O, Aug. 5 -- United Airlines, the world’s largestairline, canceled more than 150 flights at Chicago’s O’HareInternational Airport today because of crew shortages and badweather.

“Yes, we had about 156 United flights canceled todaybecause of a combination of weather and crew shortages,” UnitedAirlines spokesman Chris Brathwaite told Reuters. “We aretrying to get people diverted to other planes.”

Brathwaite also said that some pilots, who are in contracttalks with the airline, have refused to work overtime sinceApril. Both the pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, and United, a unit of Chicago-based UALCorp., have set Labor Day as the target for finishingnegotiations on a new contract, the first since employees tookmajority control of the company in 1994.

The sticking points are job security, flight assignments,salary and benefits. Negotiations between the two sides becamemore complicated when UAL announced earlier this year that itplanned to acquire US Airways, the No. 6 U.S. carrier.

The Air Line Pilots Association was not immediatelyavailable for comment on the cancellations.

Thunderstorms and showers moved into the Midwest thisweekend. Weather problems on the East Coast have contributed tothe cancellations, Brathwaite said.