Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment, which requires a GAO report on the recent mass flight cancellations and delays that crippled our Nation surrounding the Fourth of July holiday.

Mr. Chair, listen to these headlines:

From Newsweek: ``July 4th Travel Chaos as Thousands of Airline Passengers Face Cancellations.''

From the Associated Press: ``Travelers endure another day of airport agony.''

From the Insider news site: ``Get ready for a flightmare: What to expect if you are one of the 4 million Americans flying this Independence Day weekend.''

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record each of these articles. [From Newsweek.com, June 29, 2023] July 4th Travel Chaos as Thousands of Airline Passengers Face Cancellations (By Khaleda Rahman)

Hundreds of flights in the U.S. have been canceled Thursday, a worrying indication of the chaos summer travelers could endure as they prepare to fly during the busy July 4 weekend.

Airline passengers suffered through yet another day of delayed and canceled flights on Wednesday, with the East Coast continuing to be the hardest hit as storms pummel the region.

Around 1,200 U.S. flights were canceled on Wednesday, while nearly 7,000 were delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

By early Thursday, 344 flights within, into and out of the U.S. had been canceled and at least 500 more were delayed. Of the cancelled flights, 78 had been scheduled to fly in or out of New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport, 74 were at Denver airport, and 62 at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration expects Thursday to be the busiest travel day of the long weekend, with more than 52,500 total flights.

United Airlines, which uses Newark airport as its New York area hub, canceled 263 flights on Thursday, the most among U.S. airlines for a sixth straight day.

``We're beginning to see improvement across our operation. We expect to cancel far fewer seats today compared to yesterday and our baggage backlog at Newark has dropped more than 30 percent since Tuesday, and off-duty flight attendants are calling in from across the country to staff open trips,'' United said in a statement to Newsweek on Wednesday night.

``It's all-hands-on-deck as our pilots get aircraft moving, contact center teams work overtime to take care of our customers, and our airport customer service staff works tirelessly to deliver bags and board flights. As our operation improves in the days ahead, we will be on track to restore our operation for the holiday weekend.''

Many passengers who were left stranded have taken to social media to express their anger, with some saying they were forced to sleep in airport terminals.

``My wife & 2 toddlers are sleeping in an airport terminal tonight because @united bumped the flight three times, put on standby for a midnight flight, then bumped again until tomorrow morning,'' a Twitter user named John wrote.

``On hold w a rep since 3 pm today. Nobody at counters. They don't care.''

Some, including Margo Osborne, said they would never fly with certain airlines again.

``Will never fly @united again!'' Osborne tweeted. ``1000s stranded at Newark, after countless flights canceled. No one allowed to retrieve checked bag, even if u have medical equip packed inside. Customer service was worst I've seen.''

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has blamed a shortage of federal air traffic controllers for massive disruptions at its Newark hub last weekend.

Over 150,000 customers in the New York City area were impacted because of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ``staffing issues and their ability to manage traffic,'' Kirby wrote in a memo to employees on Monday night, according to Fox Business. ``The FAA frankly failed us this weekend.''

``We will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem,'' an FAA spokesperson told Newsweek.

The spokesperson said the FAA is ``working closely with airlines to keep aircraft moving safely and efficiently over the Fourth of July travel period.''

They also pointed to weekly updates on the FAA's website with preliminary data on the causes of delays.

``Current delay data shows the vast majority are due to weather and volume,'' the spokesperson said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes the FAA, took to social media on Wednesday to reassure travelers that the FAA is working to ``find solutions.''

``We are closely watching air travel this week. Weather has been rough, especially in the last four or five days, it's caused a lot of cancellations and delays for many passengers around the country,'' he said in a video posted on Twitter.

``We've known that summer is going to be a stress test on the system. The good news is we've seen a lot of progress this year through Memorial Day and also a major improvement to passenger rights compared to a year ago . . . FAA is continuing to work around the clock with airlines and within FAA's own operations to find solutions, get creative, make sure the system is as resilient as possible.''

Last week, Buttigieg issued a new warning to airlines, telling them that flights could be disrupted because some planes lack updated equipment to prevent interference from new 5G wireless service. He said only planes retrofitted with the right equipment will be allowed to land when visibility is poor, such as during bad weather. ____ [From apnews.com, June 27, 2023] Travelers Endure Another Day of Airport Agony. One Airline Has by Far the Most Cancellations (By David Koenig)

Dallas (AP).--Air travelers endured another wave of flight disruptions Thursday despite better weather along much of the East Coast, while United Airlines continued to account for the majority of canceled flights nationwide.

United vowed to get back on track over the July 4 holiday weekend, when the number of air travelers could set a pandemic-era record.

Hundreds of thousands of people have had travel plans thrown in the air after a wave of storms raked the Northeast over the past few days and frustrations are running high.

Airports in Chicago, Denver and Newark, New Jersey--all hubs for United--were seeing the most delays on Thursday, according to FlightAware.

By early evening on the East Coast, United had canceled more than 400 flights, the bulk of the 600-plus cancellations toted up by FlightAware. The Chicago carrier was poised to lead all U.S. airlines in cancellations for a sixth straight day.

United CEO Scott Kirby has blamed the airline's struggles in Newark on a shortage of air traffic controllers in the New York City area. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed back against the criticism while conceding that a key Federal Aviation Administration facility in New York is severely understaffed.

``United Airlines has some internal issues they need to work through. They have really been struggling this week, even relative to other U.S. airlines,'' Buttigieg told CNN. ``But where we do agree is that there need to be more resources for air traffic control.''

The FAA plans to hire 3,300 controllers over two years, but they won't be ready to help this summer, much less this weekend.

The leader of United's union pilots--who are locked in difficult contract negotiations--blamed management for the disruptions, saying the company failed to upgrade a crewscheduling system.

``While Scott Kirby attempts to deflect blame on the FAA, weather and everything in between, further flight delays are a direct result of poor planning by United Airlines executives,'' Garth Thompson said.

United is offering triple pay to flight attendants who are scheduled off this weekend but agree to pick up extra flights, according to their union. The Association of Flight Attendants also said crews calling in for assignments have been put on hold for three hours or longer.

``The airline actually `lost' crews in the system for days on end because there was such a significant breakdown in running the operation,'' said Ken Diaz, president of the flight attendants' group at United. He said the company scheduled summer flights ``to the max'' even knowing about air traffic control limits in the Northeast.

United said it was getting a handle on its problems.

``We're seeing continued meaningful improvement today after an overnight effort to further repair schedules and match separated crews with aircraft,'' the airline said in a midday statement. ``As the recovery progresses, delays and cancellations will continue to decline as we head into what we expect to be a very busy holiday weekend.''

Because planes are packed for the summer, it is hard for airlines to rebook customers when flights are canceled--there aren't many empty seats.

Ariana Duran of Orlando, Florida, said JetBlue rebooked her for seven days later when her flight home from Newark was canceled this week. So she got creative.

Her boyfriend spotted a $1,200 seat on another airline, but it was gone before they could buy it. She looked into Amtrak. Duran, who does marketing for an insurance company, wound up paying about $640 for a one-way ticket to Orlando--with a stop in the Florida Keys--on United Express and Silver Airways.

Duran didn't care when they told her it would be a very small plane. ``Just put me on a boat at this point,'' she said.

Sonia Hendrix, who runs a public-relations firm in New York, took four days to get home from a business trip to Colorado. She was stranded one night in Atlanta and two in Orlando, when connecting flights were canceled. She woke up some mornings not knowing where she was.

Hendrix said a Delta agent threatened to cancel her reservation when she complained about being offered only a $50 voucher for her trip troubles. On the other hand, her pilot, ``Captain Dan,'' waited in the airport and helped passengers after the flight was canceled.

``This is not all Delta's fault. Their pilots and flight crews were working very hard,'' she said. ``I blame the FAA. I blame Buttigieg for sitting on his hands'' and not staffing up air traffic control centers sooner.

Hendrix said she lost working time and spent $700 out of pocket. She is so worried it could happen again that she is reconsidering a business trip next month to Los Angeles.

The FAA said Thursday would be the busiest day of the holiday stretch by number of flights. The Transportation Security Administration said it expected to screen the most travelers on Friday--a predicted 2.82 million people.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms may arrive later Thursday in the Northeast, and storms were also forecast farther south along the East Coast through Saturday. The West is under threat of unstable weather for the next several days.

Along with big crowds and storms, a technology issue could add to travelers' difficulties. Federal officials say some airline planes may be unable to fly in bad weather starting Saturday because of possible interference from new 5G wireless service.

American, United, Southwest, Alaska and Frontier say all their planes have been retrofitted with new radio altimeters--those are devices that measure the plane's height above the ground--and they do not expect disruptions due to 5G service.

However, Delta Air Lines has about 190 planes in its fleet of more than 900 that have not been updated because it can't get enough altimeters from its supplier. Delta says it will schedule those planes to avoid landing in poor visibility while it works to upgrade them through the summer.

The issue affects several types of single-aisle planes that Delta uses on routes within the United States, including all its Airbus A220s and most of its Airbus A319 and A320 jets.

Smaller airlines that operate regional flights could also be affected by the radio interference issue, as could flights operated to the United States by foreign carriers.

By early evening in the East, about 5,300 flights had been delayed, down from an average of 8,000 a day over the first three days of the week. ____ [From insider.com] Get Ready for a `Flightmare' if You're Flying This July 4 Holiday (By Hannah Towey and Pete Syme)

Imagine the entire population of Los Angeles heading to an airport--and then throw in Cincinnati, just for fun.

That's how many Americans are expected to fly over this Independence Day weekend, which travel organization AAA predicts will break records for car and air travel.

And the Transportation Security Administration says 17.7 million people will travel across the country from Thursday through July 5.

It expects Friday to be the busiest day, projecting 2.82 million people will pass through TSA checkpoints--which would beat its all-time single-day record of 2.8 million on June 16.

It's a huge test for the country's strained aviation system, and the results aren't inspiring much confidence so far.

Hundreds of thousands of people have had travel plans thrown into chaos after a wave of storms raked the Northeast in the last week of June and frustrations are running high, with some stranded passengers resorting to sleeping on tables and luggage carts.

One United passenger told Insider they were stuck in Newark Liberty International Airport for two-and-a-half days waiting for their flight to South Africa, ultimately causing them to cancel their trip. Another United passenger said she had to drive hundreds of miles and take another flight to meet up with her bags--and she still couldn't get a hold of her luggage.

On Thursday--which the Federal Aviation Administration predicted to be the busiest day--7,845 flights within, into, or out of the US were delayed or canceled, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms may arrive in the Northeast, and storms were also forecast farther south along the East Coast through Saturday. The West is also under threat of unstable weather for the next several days.

``Storms are hitting the East Coast at the worst time: right as the July 4th travel weekend begins to takeoff,'' Scott Keyes, the founder and chief flight expert of Going.com, told Travel + Leisure magazine.

``Expect long lines, few empty seats, and lengthy hold times to get ahold of customer service phone agents,'' he added.

Chris Citrola, an FAA spokesman, said storms on the East Coast had ``positioned themselves in the perfect spot.''

``What happens is a domino effect of issues,'' he added. ``We have crews that can't get to where they need to, we can't get crews out of where they need to go to, and that starts turning into a lot of issues at the airport itself.''

Along with big crowds and storms, a technology issue could add to travelers' difficulties.

Federal officials say some airline planes may be unable to fly in bad weather starting Saturday because of possible interference from new 5G wireless service.

There's concern that boosted 5G signals could interfere with radar altimeters--sensors which measures how high an aircraft is above the ground, and are essential for flying in low-visibility conditions.

Buttigieg warned of ``a real risk of delays or cancellations,'' because hundreds of planes have yet to be retrofitted with updated sensors.

American, United, Southwest, Alaska and Frontier say all their planes have been updated, and they do not expect disruptions due to 5G service.

However, Delta Air Lines has about 190 planes in its fleet of more than 900 that have not been updated because it can't get enough altimeters from its supplier. Delta says it will schedule those planes to avoid landing in poor visibility while it works to upgrade them through the summer.

The issue affects several types of single-aisle planes that Delta uses on routes within the United States, including all its Airbus A220s and most of its A319 and A320 jets.

And JetBlue said it expects its 17 A220 planes won't be upgraded until October, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Smaller airlines that operate regional flights could also be affected by the radio interference issue, as could flights operated to the United States by foreign carriers.

Buttigieg said that around 20 percent of domestic planes and 35% of international ones which fly to the US aren't yet fitted with the updated equipment, per the Journal.

Backups are easing thanks to a break in the weather, but United Airlines continues to bear the brunt of the disruptions. The airline accounted for approximately 69% of canceled flights in the US on Thursday, per FlightAware. The Chicago-based carrier is poised to lead all airlines in cancellations for a sixth straight day.

Airports in Chicago, Denver, and Newark, New Jersey--all hubs for United--were seeing the most delays on Thursday, according to FlightAware.

United CEO Scott Kirby blamed the airline's struggles in Newark on a shortage of air traffic controllers in the New York City area. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed back against the criticism while conceding that a key FM facility in New York is severely understaffed.

``United Airlines has some internal issues they need to work through. They have really been struggling this week, even relative to other U.S. airlines,'' Buttigieg told CNN. ``But where we do agree is that there need to be more resources for air traffic control.''

The FAA plans to hire 3,300 controllers over two years, but they won't be ready to help this summer, much less this weekend.

United is offering triple pay to flight attendants who are scheduled off this weekend but agree to pick up extra flights, according to their union. The Association of Flight Attendants also says crews calling in for assignments have been put on hold for three hours or longer.

A spokesperson for United Airlines told Insider that the carrier has seen ``meaningful improvement today after an overnight effort to further repair schedules and match separated crews with aircraft.''

``As the recovery progresses, delays and cancellations will continue to decline as we head into what we expect to be a very busy holiday weekend,'' the spokesperson added. ``We're closely watching the weather, especially in Denver and Chicago today, and are hopeful our customers will still see fewer last-minute cancellations--which will reduce lines at the airport.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chair, with thousands of Fourth of July vacations lying in ruins, it is vitally important for accountability as to what went so catastrophically wrong with our Nation's aviation transportation system.

That is why I was proud to author my amendment to require the GAO to report to Congress on the actions of the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration related to this travel nightmare.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source