United, US FAA spar over blame for summer air travel problems

The US aviation system is expected to "remain challenged this summer and beyond" and the FAA needs more air traffic control staff, a senior United executive said on Wednesday. The FAA responded to United Wednesday, saying on July 3 and 4 "there were no FAA staffing-related delays at all, yet airlines still canceled over 1,100 flights, a quarter of which were United Airlines flights." Summer travelers face mounting flight cancellations as demand rises and the industry tries to rebuild staff levels after thousands of workers left during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The reality is that there are just more flights scheduled industrywide than the (air traffic control) staffing system can handle," United's chief operations officer, Jon Roitman, said in a message to staff. "Until that is resolved, we expect the U.S. aviation system will remain challenged this summer and beyond." The FAA said it "will continue to meet our responsibility to hold airlines accountable, while standing ready to collaborate where appropriate so that Americans can confidently expect safe, reliable, and affordable service whenever they purchase an airline ticket." US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who met June 16 with airline CEOs on summer travel issues, told CNBC on Tuesday that "air traffic control staffing issues do not explain the majority of delays and cancellations we've been seeing."<br/>