United Airlines CEO issues apology after taking a private jet as thousands of passengers stranded due to cancellations

• United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is coming under fire for a private flight he took on Friday.
• The executive flew from New Jersey to Denver while hundreds of United flights were canceled.

Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, apologized on Friday for taking a private jet out of New York while thousands of United passengers were stranded due to cancellations, The Associated Press reported.

The report says that Kirby took a private plane from New Jersey to Denver on Wednesday as 750 United flights were canceled that day, 25% of its schedule.

"Taking a private jet was the wrong decision because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home," Kirby said in a statement, per The AP.

"I sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working around the clock for several days — often through severe weather — to take care of our customers," it continued.

United has canceled almost 3,000 flights this week, according to The Independent, with flights from New Jersey hitting particularly hard after the area's storms.

The company said in a tweet that operations were improving, but it had been severely affected by "bad weather on the East Coast," which "caused a major ripple effect."

It added that delays and cancellations would "continue to decrease" into the summer vacation period.

Kirby added that he would better display his "respect for the dedication of our team members and the loyalty of our customers."

United recently launched a new scheme to help passengers hit by delays. The company said it would send vouchers directly to the phones of passengers with disrupted flights, with meal vouchers available for delays of three hours or more and hotel vouchers for overnight delays, Insider previously reported.

It comes as the TSA predicted that the number of Americans flying this summer would be above pre-pandemic levels. Some employees have concerns over whether airlines will be ready to handle such a surge in numbers.

United said it did not fund Kirby's flight, per The AP. Kirby is reported to have earned $9.85 million in 2021,