There isn't a single problem that cannot be made worse by the federal government, which is why demands for the administration to 'do something' over mounting flight cancellations as the airlines are still recovering from pandemic-related shutdowns are not a good idea.
The government caused the problem by mandating a nationwide lockdown, and Democrat leaders exploited the pandemic for the past two years 1) to hurt Donald Trump's popularity and reelection chances; and 2) to extend their own power and authority. The result: A massive labor shift in the country that obviously affected the airlines as well.
Now that most of the country has 'reopened' and Americans are trying to do more things, air travel has increased, but the personnel shortages caused by the pandemic labor shifts have not resolved themselves yet.
But leave it to the Biden regime to try and make matters worse with impossible-to-achieve mandates that will lead to more problems including, no doubt, deadly plane crashes.
'Transportation' Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who hasn't done squat to alleviate the supply chain crisis (which has also gotten worse under his watch), is upset after one of his flights was canceled and has now threatened government action against the airlines because he's angry.
“That is happening to a lot of people, and that is exactly why we are paying close attention here to what can be done and how to make sure that the airlines are delivering,” Buttigieg said June 18, noting that he had met with airline industry leaders a day earlier and should have been told that what he's demanding is, for the moment, impossible.
“Now we’re going to see how those steps measure up,” Buttigieg said.
In addition to Buttigieg's flight being canceled over the weekend, roughly 2,000 others were as well, and the number is growing as more Americans try to take to the skies to take long-overdue vacations. But here's something to remember: Canceled flights cost the airlines money and since they are in the business of making profits, the last thing they want to do is cancel flights. But here comes butt-hurt Buttigieg with his threats, like that's going to solve issues like staff shortages.
The Epoch Times also noted the issue:
Some 2,700 flights were canceled on Memorial Day weekend, according to data from FlightAware. FlightAware also said about 700 U.S. flights were scrapped as of early on June 19, after about 1,300 flights were canceled a day earlier.
Major airline companies have already signaled that they have cut numerous flights through Labor Day weekend over worker shortages.
Southwest Airlines has canceled over 20,000 flights this season, and Delta Air Lines has cut over 700 flights since late last month, saying it expects to cancel 100 flights per day between July 1 and Aug. 7 across North and South America.
So, what if Buttigieg, at the direction of Joe Biden's handlers, 'takes actions' and 'demands' more flights be made available? That's going to lead to crashes and deaths.
Already, pilots are sounding the alarm.
A letter posted by Delta pilots on June 16 said they had been flying a “record amount of overtime” hours amid cancellations; demanding they fly more won't help.
“At the current rate, by this fall, our pilots will have flown more overtime in 2022 than in the entirety of 2018 and 2019 combined, our busiest years to date,” the pilots noted in the letter. “We empathize and share in your frustration over the delays, cancellations, and disrupted travel plans you’ve experienced. We agree; it is unacceptable.”
“The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said several months ago on a call with personnel.
Normally it takes months to on-board and train new pilots, but the airlines are already considering cutting that time -- another danger.
The 'federal solution,' early on, then, will be to demand that airlines hire more customer service personnel, The Epoch Times reported. But again, there is also a labor shortage in the country; where are those 'extra personnel' going to come from?
This is all a problem of big government; and it's not going to be solved by big government.
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