This worker shortage problem has been building for years but was made worse after the COVID pandemic forced airlines to drastically cut back on their routes and lay off thousands of workers. "Some of the predictions I'm hearing is that the pilot shortage won't be resolved until 2032 or something like that," Headley said. What's worse, the data and industry experts, including Headley, say the trend in staffing issues points to a problem that could get a lot worse before it gets better and could affect your travel plans for another decade. According to the RAA, 61 airports have lost more than half their flights and 16 airports have lost all their major commercial flights.ĭean Headley says that smaller airports and cities can expect to see airlines cut back their routes there as they struggle to meet demand. Senate Commerce Committee dated June 21, 2023, the Regional Airline Association (RAA) said airlines have already left 73 different markets since 2019 and 321 airports have lost some air service. So, people are not at a major airport will find that their flight schedules have been reduced simply because they don't have enough people to put in an airplane to fly it somewhere," Headley explained.Īccording to a letter to the U.S. They can train about 1,500 to 1,800 pilots a year," Headley said.īut since the industry is short about 17,000 pilots right now, "we can't catch up that quick," he said.īecause of the current staffing shortage, commercial airlines have "cut back flights to smaller regional airports. "The airlines are doing about as much as they can. "They are leaving planes on the ground because they don't have enough people to fly them for ground crews or anything like that." There's no doubt the staffing shortage "affects us now," said Wichita State University emeritus associate professor Dean Headley. airlines recognize the importance of securing a pipeline of new employees-pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and others-and have established new pilot training programs, enhanced recruitment efforts and implemented programs to address financial hurdles," the spokesperson wrote. In an email, a spokesperson said the airlines have "reduced their schedules to reflect current operating realities," adding that they're "hiring aggressively to make sure they have the right people in the right place at the right time." Senators Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, both Democrats, wrote letters to the CEOs of 10 different airlines to demand corrective action.Īirlines fly fewer flights than pre-pandemic even as passenger numbers rebound 06:36Īirlines-4-America, the association which represents seven of the nation's biggest carriers, declined to talk with CBS News about flight disruptions and the impact of staffing shortages. 16, 2022, growing frustrated with rising complaints from consumers about ongoing flight disruptions, a bipartisan group of 34 state attorneys general wrote a letter to Secretary Buttigieg, saying "the USDOT has yet to develop the ability to respond quickly enough to or coordinate effectively with our offices."Īmong several recommendations, the attorneys general wrote that "USDOT should require airlines to advertise and sell only flights that they have adequate personnel to fly and support, and perform regular audits of airlines to ensure compliance and impose fines on airlines that do not comply." 31, 2022, software and staffing issues forced Southwest Airlines to cancel 14,042 flights, or 72.3% of all canceled flights nationwide, leaving passengers stranded around the country.Īnd on Dec. Secretary Buttigieg's office confirmed to CBS News that Southwest Airlines is among the carriers under investigation but declined to name other airlines involved in the department probe or give a timeline for that process.īuttigieg explains why air travel headaches have continued 08:05Īccording to the DOT, from Dec. And when compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, the number of cancellations was up 374%. The number of delays during those four days was 25% higher than in the same period last year. That's one in every 17 flights canceled outright. During that time, airlines canceled 6,346 scheduled flights. The pressure on the system became clear during a recent four-day period this summer: June 24-27, when 31,850 flights - a third of all flights nationwide - were delayed. But staffing shortages can make those worse. "Unrealistic scheduling practices"Īirlines often blame the weather for delays. CBS News analysis of the data provided by FlightAware shows that the number of delays caused by issues within air carriers' control has jumped from 5.2% in 2018 to 7.6% in 2023, a rise of thousands of delayed flights.
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