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A group representing major passenger airlines has sent a letter to the FAA and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, urging officials to take action to address the impact that private aviation and air traffic controller shortages are having on flight delays and cancellations. Members of the private aviation community are responding, calling out the group for placing the blame on GA traffic while the facts point a finger at other factors, including the airlines themselves.
Airlines for America, representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines sent a letter urging FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, Buttigieg and other aviation officials to address the delays caused by private aviation and workforce shortages. Reuters reported that the letter asked Whitaker and Buttigieg to "take all possible actions to find the appropriate balance between commercial and private aviation traffic with the goal of minimizing delays and cancellations for the traveling public."
While the letter points the blame on GA traffic and ATC workforce shortages, the facts point elsewhere. According to the FAA data on delay causes, 71.6 percent of total delay minutes are due to weather, 16.9 percent due to volume, 7.1 percent due to runway, 2.4 percent due to other/staffing and 2 percent due to runway. Ahead of the December holiday season, the FAA shared some additional insight, revealing that while there was an increase in flights in 2023, the number of delays and cancellations remains lower than the pre-pandemic numbers. According to Reuters, Buttigieg said the U.S. was on pace to have the lowest number of flight cancellations in five years as of December 2023.
The ATC workforce shortage has been a growing concern as the number of runway incursions across the country is on the rise. The FAA's new administrator, Whitaker, has taken steps to address the challenges facing controllers in his first few months in the position. In December, Whitaker convened a panel of fatigue experts to find new ways to address air traffic controller fatigue. The FAA has spent the year looking for other ways to improve safety, industry-wide. This included bolstering training and hiring and launching a safety campaign for controllers.
While the letter points the blame at GA traffic and air controller workforce shortages, the data does not back up the claim. The largest factor causing delays, weather, is the most uncontrollable on the list. There is no letter, campaign, or legal action that can prevent weather delays. Flight cancellations were trending lower in 2023 and the Department of Transportation launched an interactive Customer Service Dashboard to provide passengers with current airline customer service policies on cancellations and delays to provide easy access to information in case of a problem. Cancellations were also trending lower in 2023.
The letter placed most of the blame on private aviation, but members of the community spoke out. NBAA spokesperson Dan Hubbard told GlobalAir.com his thoughts on the matter, stressing the importance of sticking to the facts and building on actual work being done to address the issues.
"It's unfortunate that the airlines appear to be prioritizing finger-pointing over facts when it comes to causes for aviation system delays, because the fact is, delays are most often caused by weather and the practices of the airlines themselves," Hubbard told GlobalAir.com. "Time and again, independent analyses have shown that flights by the mostly small, non-airline planes included in general aviation are not a significant causal factor in aviation-system delays. Let's stick to the facts, and continue to build on the actual work being done by all parties to preserve our nation's leadership in aviation, and ensure that it works for everyone who relies on it."
In some instances, the blame is placed on the airlines. U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Airlines for America on Dec. 20, urging the airlines to carefully plan and invest in necessary resources to minimize flight delays and cancellations over the holiday travel season, citing the havoc that Winter Storm Elliot caused in 2022. "Air travel during the holidays last year was an unmitigated disaster," the letter said, referencing the more than 30,000 flight cancellations and 142,000 delays with the airlines. The letter does note that many of these delays were unavoidable, but the storms did reveal that some airlines were unprepared for the winter weather and some failed to keep up with the cancellations and delays by reassigning pilots and flight attendants.
Weather may be unavoidable in some cases, but staffing and logistical challenges can be planned for to mitigate some of the trouble caused by cancellations or delays. Most recently, the DOT issued a $140 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines for the chaos that encompassed December 2022.
"The risk of flight delays, cancellations, and ruined vacations lurks in travelers' minds, creating more holiday fear than holiday cheer," Senators Markey and Blumenthal said in their letter. "In light of these concerns, we urge the major airlines to plan thoroughly and invest appropriately in mitigating the logistical and staffing challenges that this holiday season can expect to bring."
The airlines and private aviation all share an airspace and as a whole, the industry must build upon and improve the work being done and find ways to ensure the national airspace works for everyone flying in it. Until we can fight back against Mother Nature, the blame cannot be solely placed on private aviation traffic, especially when the facts say otherwise.