With the upcoming Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer travel season, DOT secretary Pete Buttigieg says the Department of Transportation is ready to hold airlines’ feet to the fire if necessary.
But Buttigieg also acknowledged the shortcomings in air traffic controller staffing and said the FAA is making progress toward alleviating that issue.
“Cancellations and delay rates were at unacceptable proportions last year. And it’s important that that doesn’t happen again,” Buttigieg said during a Tuesday press conference.
Thus so far this year, US carriers have canceled 1.4% of flights, FlightAware data shows. That’s better than the 10-year average. It’s also a substantial improvement from the 2.4% cancellation rate US carriers recorded for all of last year.
Buttigieg noted that improvement but also said that this weekend will be a test of the system. He said the department would take a two-pronged approach to dealing with airlines, working collaboratively