Airlines Aim To Shift Blame For Flight Problems To FAA

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FILE - Planes sit on the tarmac at the Des Moines International Airport, Monday, June 13, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. With an eye on the upcoming July Fourth weekend, airlines are stepping up their criticism of federal officials over recent widespread flight delays and cancellations. The industry trade group Airlines for America said Friday, June 24, 2022, that understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration is crippling traffic along the East Coast. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

DALLAS (AP) — Airlines under scrutiny for widespread flight disruptions are renewing their criticism of the government agency that manages the nation’s airspace, saying that understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration is “crippling” traffic along the East Coast.

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Airlines for America, which represents the largest U.S. carriers, said Friday it wants to know FAA’s staffing plans for the July Fourth holiday weekend, “so we can plan accordingly.”

The comments from the industry group could serve as a pre-emptive defense in case airlines again suffer thousands of canceled and delayed flights over the holiday weekend, when travel is expected to set new pandemic-era highs.

“The industry is actively and nimbly doing everything possible to create a positive customer experience since it is in an airline’s inherent interest to keep customers happy, so they return for future business,” Nicholas Calio, president of the trade group, said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Calio said airlines have dropped 15% of the flights they originally planned for June through August to make the remaining flights more reliable, they are hiring and training more pilots and customer-service agents, and giving passengers more flexibility to change travel plans.

Calio said air traffic is often disrupted “for many hours” because bad weather causes the the FAA to issue delays.

“However, we have also observed that FAA (air traffic control) staffing challenges have led to traffic restrictions under blue sky conditions,” he added.

The FAA shot back, with a reference to taxpayer money that airlines received after the pandemic devastated air travel.

“People expect when they buy an airline ticket that they’ll get where they need to go safely, efficiently, reliably and affordably,” the FAA said in a statement. “After receiving $54 billion in pandemic relief to help save the airlines from mass layoffs and bankruptcy, the American people deserve to have their expectations met.”

The FAA said it has added controllers in high-traffic areas and added alternate routes to keep planes moving.

The airline trade group chief’s comments came a week after Buttigieg called airline leaders to a virtual meeting and threatened to punish carriers that fail to meet consumer-protection standards set by his department, which includes the FAA.

Buttigieg said he called the meeting after being alarmed by the high number of canceled flights around Memorial Day — more than 2,700 in a five-day stretch, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Thunderstorms can quickly snarl air traffic during the summer, but airlines have also acknowledged staffing shortages — they are hiring at a rapid pace to replace tens of thousands of workers whom the airlines paid to quit when travel collapsed in 2020. Pilot union leaders say their groups are being stretched to the limit, and more pilots report being fatigued.

The FAA has admitted that it too is understaffed, particularly at a key air traffic control center in Florida.

Calio said that facility, near Jacksonville, Florida, has been understaffed for 27 of the last 30 days, “which is crippling to the entire East Coast traffic flows.”

More than 500 U.S. flights had been canceled and more than 2,300 delayed by early afternoon Friday, according to FlightAware. That was better than Thursday, however, when thunderstorms on the East Coast contributed to more than 800 cancellations and 6,600 delays.


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H M
H M
1 year ago

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The problem is the result of the firing of non-vaccinated federal employees when Biden’s mandate went into effect. At the time, travel volume had not yet increased much, so no one did much of anything about the sudden dearth of pilots and air traffic control personnel. When people realized the pandemic was over, and flying volume ratcheted up quickly, the airlines scrambled to hire pilots, and are coming up to speed to some degree, but the FAA, being a government agency, doesn’t typically “scramble” to do anything unless the administration is pushing them (like when President Reagan fired all the air traffic control people who illegally went on strike, and very quickly brought in and trained new people). Biden, however, has other priorities, which do not include solving problems his policies create, so there’s no real push for the FAA to fix this problem. Hence all the cancellations and delays. That’s why the airlines are telling the FAA to get it together, because they are the main problem.

Any questions? Don’t forget to thank Biden for some more problems created by his stupidity…

Concerned democrat
Concerned democrat
1 year ago

Why is all this happening under the Biden administration?

Educated Archy
Educated Archy
1 year ago

Just like I said with the FDA and Nsta , the FAA needs to learn how to think and act quicker and more strategic. We need to end the days when we can afford that govt to be slow inefficient and unable to move quickly. The buck stops at Biden.
Ps this doesn’t excuse the airlines who are pigs and got plenty of bailouts. Both sides need to shape up