U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he is willing to take a hard line with airlines when necessary as the Biden administration vows a sweeping upgrade in passenger consumer protections.
“We’re continuing to work to make sure that airlines live up to their obligations, which we will enforce,” Buttigieg told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview on Thursday.
U.S. airlines have sparred with the administration in recent years over responsibility for flight delays, passenger rights, landing slots and other issues. Carriers and a federal audit say the Federal Aviation Administration must boost air traffic control staffing.
Buttigieg has opened numerous investigations and imposed fines for carrier misbehavior. President Joe Biden has often criticized airlines, saying in February “airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage.”
While Buttigieg works with airlines when possible, he added: “We’re going to beat ’em up when we think that’s important to get passengers a better deal.”
Buttigieg said he is “in the middle of what I intend to be the biggest expansion of passenger rights in years. And there are tensions that are naturally going to come through with that.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently suggested the Federal Aviation Administration had “failed us” before changing his tone.
In late June and early July, United had higher cancellations that it blamed in part on air traffic control staffing issues.
“It was another scenario where you had the rest of the system seem to recover and one player struggling – so certainly something we’re looking at it,” Buttigieg said.
In late 2022, Southwest Airlines suffered an operational meltdown after bad weather that also affected peers was compounded by its legacy scheduling system. Buttigieg has an ongoing investigation into Southwest’s meltdown but he declined to discuss findings.
Source : KFGO