Cancelling flights is pretty expensive. I would not be terribly surprised if the total cost in foregone revenue (both from the flights not flown and from the op

Cancelling flights is pretty expensive. I would not be terribly surprised if the total cost in foregone revenue (both from the flights not flown and from the opportunity cost of the decreased inventory on the flight passengers are rebooked onto), aircraft parking fees, couriering lost luggage and in compensation/accommodation provided (whatever little that is) is in the thousands of dollars per flight. In other words, all other things being equal, you can probably train a decent number of pilots from savings from not cancelling flights, without plucking tax payers or raising ticket prices.