Sen. Sanders is calling on Transportation Sec. Buttigieg to protect passengers facing a deluge of problems at airports nationwide as airlines struggle to meet demand.
"During the pandemic, when air travel came to a near halt, U.S. taxpayers came to the rescue and gave $54 billion to the airline industry," Sanderswrote in the letter."The top eight airlines alone received nearly $50 billion in taxpayer assistance from the federal government. Given all of the generous taxpayer support that has been provided to the airline industry, all of us have a responsibility to make sure that passengers and crew members are treated with respect, not contempt.
"Taxpayers bailed out the airline industry during their time of need," Sanders said."Now, it is the responsibility of the airline industry and the Department of Transportation to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the flying public and crew members are able to get to their destinations on time and without delay."
The pressure from Sanders on Buttigieg comes more than two years after the two men fought for the Democratic presidential nomination, with Sanders representing a liberal wing that wants the party to be more aggressive at using power on behalf of consumers and against corporations. Buttigieg, who ran on a center-left platform, dropped out in early March 2020 and endorsed then-candidate Joe Biden.
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