Holiday travelers left stranded at airports across the country may want to consider assigning a share of the blame to the federal government.
Cancellations of flights have left thousands of travelers stranded at airports.
On Monday, over 3,800 flights in the U.S., including flights into or out of the country, were canceled and more than 7,400 delayed, according to The New York Times.
One airline, Southwest, canceled more than 2,800 — or 70 percent — of its flights, the Times reported.
It was a logistics disaster that dominated headlines over the Christmas weekend, but it didn’t come from out of the blue. The Biden administration and the federal government have had plenty of warnings about the problems plaguing the U.S. air industry.
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Months before the holiday travel nightmare, a bipartisan group of attorneys generals questioned congressional leadership on how the federal government could improve air travel nationally.
In an August letter, the prosecutors outlined specific, actionable reforms that would give more power to the states to protect the traveling public.
The letter also contained an implicit indictment of the Biden administration’s Department of Transportation, led by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The state, territorial and District of Columbia officials indicated that the DOT had failed to provide recourse to the ever-increasing volume of consumer complaints against airlines — which the states had referred to the agency.
Do you think that the Biden administration is culpable in this?
Yes: 95% (55 Votes)
No: 5% (3 Votes)
“As you are aware, federal law places the central responsibility for addressing violations of airline consumer protection with the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT),” stated the letter, which was addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Accordingly, our offices have relayed the complaints we have received to the US DOT. Unfortunately, the agency has thus far failed to respond and to provide appropriate recourse in those cases. Americans are justifiably frustrated that federal government agencies charged with overseeing airline consumer protection are unable or unwilling to hold the airline…
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