Since it begins to look like we are headed for dramatic change, I've decided to start a generalized thread that looks at all the elements of a social breakdown in the US. This will include systems failures, crime increase, loss of public faith in institutions, porous borders, soaring public debt, supply chain disruptions, political corruption, infrastructure decline, etc.
I'm going to begin with the airlines. Many US Airlines received large amount of money from the Coronavirus bailout. In addition, there were requirements that the airlines vaccinate the pilots which led to some quitting. As airline travel collapsed, many went to look for other jobs. The inability of the airlines to respond to these changes has led to massive problems with flights almost on the historic scale. While flight delays may not seem very dramatic, they are a sign of systems failures beginning to cascade. Govt. institutions that were created to prevent these kinds of problems are failing. Many more stories will come later in the thread about different topics that also reflect the same issues.
Analysis: Flight delays, cancellations mar U.S. summer travel
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
CHICAGO, June 29 (Reuters) - Persistent staffing shortages, fewer flights and booming demand have cast a shadow on the busy July Fourth holiday weekend and the entire summer travel season.
While the lifting of COVID-19 curbs and bottled-up travel demand are translating into the strongest summer since the pandemic for American carriers, frequent mass flight cancellations are creating chaos for their customers.
U.S. airlines have canceled more than 21,000 flights, or about 2.7% of the scheduled total since the Memorial Day holiday weekend in May, almost double last year's rate, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. Flight delays are also higher than in 2021.
Analysts and some industry executives don't see a meaningful improvement before fall when travel demand tends to slow down.
On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) warned of another round of disruptions during the July Fourth weekend when passenger traffic is projected to be the highest since before the pandemic. To mitigate the impact, it is allowing customers to rebook their trip for free.
The Atlanta-based carrier has canceled about 5% of its scheduled flights in the past two weeks due to staffing, weather and air traffic control (ATC) issues.
Carriers are still grappling with staffing shortages after letting go thousands of pilots at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Now, they have been aggressively hiring, with both Delta and United Airlines , for example, hiring 200 pilots a month
BLAME GAME
American Airlines (AAL.O) said it has added 12,000 new employees in preparation for the summer travel rush. It is also operating fewer flights than last summer.
Yet, its cancellation rate is higher than last summer. The airline blames air traffic control and weather for its troubles.
"American's largest and busiest hubs have been affected, which has a ripple effect throughout our operation," a spokesperson for the airline said.
Frontier Airlines Chief Executive Barry Biffle also attributed flight delays and cancellations to inadequate ATC staffing and an increase in the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ground-delay programs, which is used to regulate air traffic volume.
Biffle said there has been an up to ten-fold increase in the program compared to 2019.
In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last week, Airlines for America said ATC's staffing challenges are disrupting flights even in good weather. It asked the FAA to ensure adequate staffing and to reduce airspace closures.
The FAA said it has added alternate routes, placed more controllers in high demand areas, and increased data sharing. In order to avoid airspace closures, it said no space launches have been scheduled during the July Fourth holiday.
The agency, however, shot back at airlines for reducing headcount during the height of the pandemic.
"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."
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 022-06-29/
And additional systems failure was the govt./media overreaction to the Covid spread that now has cascading effects. Govts. that can't make good decisions lead their nations into decline.