United has blamed the FAA for flight issues in the past. “And that put everyone behind the eight ball when weather actually did hit on Sunday and was further compounded by FAA staffing shortages Sunday evening.” “It led to massive delays, cancellations, diversions, as well as crews and aircraft out of position,” Kirby wrote. Continuing storms in the area made it harder for the airline to recover, he said. In his email to staff, Kirby said trouble began Saturday when the FAA reduced arrival and departure rates in the New York area. The situation has echoes of the large-scale meltdown at Southwest Airlines over the Christmas holiday period, when crews were in the wrong locations as the carrier tried to match pilots, flight attendants and aircraft. The carrier had canceled about 450 flights as of late Tuesday afternoon. United canceled almost 600 flights Monday, nearly 20 percent of its schedule. “There is an absolute recognition by Union leadership and Inflight management that something must be done in order to permanently address these adverse situations resulting from irregular operations,” the memo said. The union encouraged flight attendants approaching their maximum number of work hours to find their own accommodations. On Monday evening, the Association of Flight Attendants sent a memo to its United union members saying wait times for a crew-scheduling line had reached three hours. While Kirby took aim at the FAA, there are signs that at least some of the problems trace back to internal issues at United. The FAA did not respond to questions about Kirby’s email but said in a statement, “We will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem.” It follows a report by the Transportation Department’s inspector general last week that found the agency had taken only limited steps to address shortages and repeated warnings by the air traffic controllers’ union that too few employees were available. “The FAA frankly failed us this weekend,” Kirby wrote.Īfter a relatively smooth start to the summer travel season, the surge in delayed and canceled flights – combined with Kirby’s email – set up a clash between one of the nation’s largest airlines and the government agency responsible for keeping the skies safe as the busy Fourth of July weekend approaches. In an email late Monday afternoon, Kirby took direct aim at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying short staffing left the agency unable to deal with the inclement weather. United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby told employees that a shortage of air traffic controllers affected about 150,000 passengers in recent days as the carrier struggles with canceled flights brought on by thunderstorms in the New York area.
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