Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his office is actively investigating several airlines for what a spokesperson described as 'unrealistic scheduling'.
in recent months have prompted a federal investigation into what's causing the chaos. And the issues are likely to linger for as much as a decade, a CBS News investigation found.said his office is now actively investigating several airlines for what a spokesperson described as "unrealistic scheduling" — practices that overstate a carrier's ability to service the tickets they sell, which can contribute to flight disruptions, including delays and cancellations.
Secretary Buttigieg's office confirmed to CBS News that Southwest Airlines is among the carriers under investigation but declined to name other airlines involved in the department probe or give a timeline for that process. And on Dec. 16, 2022, growing frustrated with rising complaints from consumers about ongoing flight disruptions, a bipartisan group of 34 state attorneys general wrote a letter to Secretary Buttigieg, saying "the USDOT has yet to develop the ability to respond quickly enough to or coordinate effectively with our offices."
"Airlines should have significant notice that they lack the crew to meet a certain flight schedule and, therefore, any shortages should not result in last-minute flight cancellations," the senators continued. "U.S. airlines recognize the importance of securing a pipeline of new employees—pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and others—and have established new pilot training programs, enhanced recruitment efforts and implemented programs to address financial hurdles," the spokesperson wrote.There's no doubt the staffing shortage "affects us now," said Wichita State University emeritus associate professor Dean Headley.
What's worse, the data and industry experts, including Headley, say the trend in staffing issues points to a problem that could get a lot worse before it gets better and could affect your travel plans for another decade.won't be resolved until 2032 or something like that," Headley said. While the number of people boarding planes has risen to record levels only seen just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers working to move all those passengers and planes isn't keeping up with that demand.
The worker shortfall includes perhaps the most important job to ensure the safety of the flying public, air traffic controllers. "What I'm seeing is the system is under super pressure," Tajer said. Right now, "we are sustaining that margin of safety ... but eventually it's like anything and something's going to give."
Boeing estimated the U.S. alone will need 178,000 aircraft mechanics, and more than 600,000 worldwide. In 2022, 1,546 students graduated from AIM; 1,231 of them became certified aircraft technicians. English says the school has successfully placed more than 70% of its graduates in aviation industry jobs.
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