(CNN) – Transport Secretary Pete Buttigig called on airline executives in a private conversation Thursday to review their flight schedules and take other steps to mitigate the impact of summer flight cancellations, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
The source said Buttigieg had asked CEOs during the call to discuss plans to prevent and respond to disruptions over the holiday weekend of July 4 and beyond.
The call on Thursday night came the same day as airlines canceled more than 1,700 flights, according to FlightAware flight tracking data, largely caused by thunderstorms on the East Coast.
In this case, the airlines could do little. Air traffic controllers have issued ground stops at six airports, including the three main centers in larger New York.
But the disturbances reached Friday. FlightAware reported that airlines had canceled more than 1,250 flights to the United States, many of the East Coast airports, by 3:30 p.m. ET.
A special eye of Florida
The call also concerned air travel to and from Florida, a region with heavy commercial air travel that caught the attention of employees.
After carriers expressed concerns that the Federal Aviation Administration did not have the right numbering staff, the agency said this week that it was “accommodating additional air traffic controllers at facilities in Florida to support our long-term recruitment strategy for increased search for traffic ‘.
Buttigieg thanked the airlines for working with the FAA to improve the situation, including the use of alternative routes to ease congestion, the source said.
Airlines for America, the trade group representing many of the participants, said in a statement that the airlines and the Department of Transportation have “a shared commitment to prioritizing the safety and security of all passengers as they reunite with friends, family and colleagues this summer.” ”
“US airlines are always striving to ensure safe and hassle-free travel and recognize the importance of an ongoing partnership between our industry and the federal government to ensure that aviation remains the safest mode of transportation in the world.
More than 2,700 cancellations over the long weekend of Remembrance Day have drawn attention to the challenge of rebuilding the air travel system hit hard by the pandemic.
The union criticizes Delta’s schedule
Delta Air Lines has ultimately said it will cancel about 100 flights a day this summer to minimize schedule disruptions. He told CNN that “planners are constantly evaluating our staffing models and planning ahead so we can recover quickly when unforeseen circumstances arise.”
But the union representing Delta pilots began protesting at the airline’s business meeting on Thursday, calling the airline’s schedule “unacceptable.”
“We worked over the weekend, flying a record amount of overtime to help you get to your destination,” the airline’s Delta Pilot Association said in a statement to passengers. “At the current pace until this fall, our pilots will have flown more overtime in 2022 than in the whole of 2018 and 2019 combined, our busiest years so far.
The union representing Southwest Airlines pilots says the airline has planned about 200 more flights a day in June than pilots to operate them. CNN turned to Southwest for comment.
Picture above: Travelers line up at a checkpoint at the main terminal of Denver International Airport on Thursday, May 26, 2022 (AP Photo / David Zalubowski / File)
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