American Airlines crew told to stop leaving late colleagues behind at hotels before leaving for the airport

An American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

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• American Airlines flight attendants were told by their union to stop leaving each other at hotels.
• The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said it has seen a rise in crew being left behind.
• A shortage of staff has contributed to extensive delays and flight cancelations.

American Airlines flight attendants have been told by their union to stop leaving each other behind at the hotel when they are late for a pickup.

In a memo sent on Thursday by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 24,000 AA crew, the union said more were being left behind at their hotel when they did not appear on time to be picked up.

It is the flight attendants' responsibility to check out on time from their hotel to take transport provided by the airline to the airport.

"Our goal is the same as yours- we want all our members to be able to return home safely at the end of their trip to their families, friends, and loved ones," the memo read. "Taking additional steps when a crewmember isn't present ensures they make it home safely."

Those additional steps, the union said, included designating a flight attendant to get their colleagues to the pickup and having the front desk call the room of the missing flight attendant.

The failure of all crew to arrive on time can cause the flight to be delayed.

Airlines have been dealing with chaos leading to delays, cancellations and lost luggage, brought on by staffing shortages as demand ramps up following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. 

This month, passengers on an AA flight had to get off after a five-hour delay because the crew had timed out. The airline's CEO, Robert Isom, said it could be months before flight capacity and pilot supply were back in sync. 

A Spirit Airlines flight attendant told Insider that some staff were voluntarily dropping shifts because they didn't want to deal with the chaos. 

American Airlines didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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