As severe thunderstorms continue to hit the United States and cause thousands of cancellations and delays at airports across the country, some airlines are criticizing the Federal Aviation Administration for shortcomings.
On Tuesday morning, airlines reported more than 1,300 flights being delayed and 870 canceled. The issue has drawn renewed attention to the FAA, which slowed and halted flights out of major Northeast hubs like New York, Newark, Philadelphia and Boston this past weekend due to thunderstorms in the area.
According to FlightAware, Monday saw nearly 3,000 cancellations and nearly 9,000 postponements in the US. Organ also experienced Equipment outages in the Washington, DC area, exacerbated already widespread disruptions. An overheated power cable at an FAA facility grounded flights for about two hours on Sunday.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby criticized the FAA for the delays and cancellations in a memo Monday to its employees, as The Wall Street Journal first reported. Among US airlines, United – which operates a main hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) – reported the most flight cancellations and delays due to inclement weather.
“I’m also disappointed that the FAA let us down this weekend,” the United CEO wrote in the memo obtained by TPG.
Kirby said in the memo that the FAA has been able to handle extreme weather in the past without significantly hampering airline operations and passenger experience.
He added that the FAA has cut arrival rates by 40% and departures by 75%, leading to delays and mass cancellations over the past three days. When the disruption peaked on Monday, United had more than 1,200 delays and nearly 600 cancellations. Kirby estimates that around 150,000 United passengers are affected by the disruption.
“[T]that left everyone behind the eight ball when the weather really hit on Sunday and was exacerbated by the FAA’s staffing shortage on Sunday night,” he continued in the memo.
As of Tuesday morning, the Chicago-based airline had 379 delays and 372 cancellations, according to FlightAware. Additionally, Newark led US airports with the most travel disruptions over the past three days, with 158 cancellations and 85 delays as of Tuesday morning.
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An FAA spokesperson said in a statement that the agency “will always work with anyone who is seriously willing to join us in resolving the matter.”
The agency has received scrutiny in the past year after its enactment a rare stopover in the country in January after the computer stopped working early in the morning. The case highlights the FAA’s outdated infrastructure and staffing shortages that have plagued the agency since the pandemic began.
However, some aviation experts have warned against blaming the FAA for summer travel woes. Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research, said the disruption was “a shared responsibility.”
Harteveldt said: “It’s not fair to put all the blame on the FAA; they’re trying to hire and have been trying to hire more air traffic controllers,” Harteveldt said, adding that the agency has struggled to market to young people.
Harteveldt added that the FAA has also struggled to get enough funding from the federal government to upgrade infrastructure.
“If the government does not provide enough money to the FAA, it will be difficult for the FAA to meet all of its obligations,” Harteveldt said.
The FAA prepares for a September reauthorization vote and that reauthorization bill, which includes provisions to modernize the agency’s equipment and initiatives to increase hiring, bipartisan support in Congress.
Airlines for America, the trade group that represents most U.S. airlines, said in a statement that it had repeatedly warned of FAA staffing issues that hampered travel when the agency return to pre-pandemic levels, referring to a Inspector of the Department of Transport on the FAA came to the same conclusion.
Sharon Pinkerton, A4A’s senior vice president of legislative and regulatory policy, said in a Senate commerce committee hearing in February regarding the FAA’s re-authorization that she does not believe the agency is equipped to handle the increase in travel activity.
“Unfortunately, the FAA is on the verge of being overwhelmed, if they’re not ready,” Pinkerton said at the Senate hearing.
The widespread disruption comes as the airline industry prepares for the July 4 holiday weekend, expected to be one of the busiest travel periods in recent memory. While the disruption appears to be easing on Tuesday, it remains unclear if any other extreme weather could trigger mass cancellations and delays during the summer travel season.
Kirby said in the memo that he plans to talk to officials at the DOT and FAA about preventing similar travel crises this summer and suggested lobbying for more resources. for the FAA. United’s chief executive also said the airline would have “a surplus of staff” and “a surplus of resources” to mitigate the impact of any future travel disruptions.
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