In the same week that the company canceled thousands of flights, leaving passengers stranded all over the United States, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby issued an apology for traveling privately.

In a statement provided to NBC News by the airline, Kirby said, “Taking a private jet was the wrong choice because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home.

“I sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working nonstop for several days to take care of our customers, frequently through inclement weather.”

On Wednesday, the same day United Airlines canceled 750 flights, Kirby flew in a private plane from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Denver, according to the Associated Press.

According to the publication, United has canceled nearly 3,000 flights this week, the majority of them at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Kirby stated, “I promise to better show my appreciation for the commitment of our team members and the steadfastness of our customers.

This week, thunderstorms brought by severe weather on the East Coast caused thousands of airline delays and cancellations.

On Tuesday, Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK all sent alerts through Twitter to passengers, advising them to leave additional time and check with their airlines for updates as a result of weather-related flight disruptions, delays, and cancellations.

But other factors also played a role. There is a persistent lack of air traffic controllers in the United States.

In a letter to staff members on Monday, Kirby called attention to this problem and warned that a shortage could lead to other problems in the following days.

Kirby added, “I’m… frustrated that the FAA frankly failed us this weekend,” adding that he thought more than 150,000 United passengers had been inconvenienced “because of FAA staffing issues and their ability to manage traffic.”

According to FlightAware, the problems started last weekend, when roughly 2,000 U.S. flights were canceled. More than 11,000 U.S. flights were delayed or canceled on Monday due to disruptions. On Tuesday, at least 7,300 were impacted.

Approximately 2,000 U.S. planes had experienced delays and cancellations by Wednesday, according to FlightAware.

On Friday, United Airlines stated that there had been a “meaningful improvement” across their whole operation “after a challenging week that started with bad weather on the East Coast that caused a major ripple effect throughout our system.”

As we approach the busy holiday period, we anticipate a further decline in delays and cancellations, the airline tweeted.