Buttigieg warns of even MORE airline delays over July 4 holiday – and says he is ‘less focused’ on United Airlines making changes to avoid massive travel disruptions in the future
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg doesn’t appear worried with how United Airlines plans to improve following a massive series of delays ahead of Independence Day.
Rather, Buttigieg says he is ‘focused’ on making sure the U.S. airlines stay on track over the holiday as he warned of ‘severe weather’ causing even more delays and cancellations.
Embattled United Airlines is offering furious passengers 30,000 air miles to try and convince them to stay loyal to the company following a week of cancellation chaos – forcing many to spend nights in airports with many never landing at their final destinations.
‘We had a hard two days with severe weather at the beginning of the week and that’s put enormous pressure on the system,’ he told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan when asked why air travel in the U.S. is ‘so chaotic’ recently.
‘[Cancellations] really shot up at the beginning of the week, largely because of severe weathering hitting some of our key hubs,’ the Transportation secretary explained. ‘I think most passengers understand that no one can control the weather. But anything that’s under the control of the airlines – and anything that we can do on the FAA side – we need to continue pushing to make sure it’s the smoothest possible experience for airline passengers everywhere.’
In a separate interview with CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning, Buttigieg also said he isn’t as worried about fixing some of the root issues at airlines right now, but wants to ensure a smooth holiday weekend with a massive uptick in travel and the disruptions that come with it.
‘I’m less focused on how the CEO of United Airlines gets around and more focused on how millions of passengers can get around,’ Buttigieg told CNN when asked if something needs to change at United Airlines after a slew of canceled and delayed flights.
‘Things look like they have quickly returned to normal for the system, and United also appears to have recovered,’ he assured. ‘Now, we’re watching more severe — potential for severe weather. That’s what touched off all of these problems about a week ago.’
h/t Coastie Patriot