The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently released a statement claiming it was responsible for less than half of airline delays this year in the US. The announcement came after United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby accused the FAA of being the number one cause of flight delays in the US this year.

The statement from the FAA came only hours after Kirby's accusation. In the report, the administration cited statistics from January to May of this year. In these five months, it claims the airlines were responsible for twice as many minutes of flight delays as it was.

Curiously, the administration did not include any statistics from the summer months, as this summer has been one of the busiest in history. It has also seen record numbers of delays and cancelations. However, the administration does not yet have compiled statistics for these months.

Delayed summer

This summer has been filled with delays and cancelations across the US as supply races to keep up with demand. Air travel demand has reached record high numbers while airlines are in short supply of many valuable assets, particularly staffing across the board.

Shortages ranging from flight and ground personnel to aircraft parts have added pressure on the airlines throughout the year. Flight delays have become a regular enough occurrence that passengers now plan all trips with extra time to account for these delays.

The high percentage of flight delays is the result of multiple factors. In addition to the shortages faced by airlines, the FAA has also struggled to keep up with current air travel. Although it claims it is responsible for far fewer delays than the airlines. The FAA claims it is doing its job to keep people safe. It claims that it is on the airlines to keep customers satisfied. A spokesperson for the FAA stated,

"The FAA's mission is keeping airline passengers safe,

"Airlines should focus on restoring customers' faith by being transparent about the cause of interruptions and by delivering what they promise."

The blame game

Summer travel delays do not have one specific cause as no individual factor is responsible. This shared liability has led many parties to point blame at everyone but themselves. Airlines have continuously blamed the FAA, airport management, and third-party contract companies. These parties have turned right back around to blame the airlines. Regardless, all parties have a shared acceptance that a problem exists and something needs to be done about it.

Improving situation

As the summer has progressed, airlines and the FAA have managed to reduce the number of flight delays. All parties involved have become more flexible and found unique ways to tackle these problems. This past Labor Day weekend set many airlines back as the high travel demand brought many delays. Despite this setback, airlines are continuously improving reliability. They are hoping to use the slow travel season of fall to get back to pre-COVID delay rates before the busy holiday travel season arrives.

The US government is currently working to improve many airports around the US to not only offer a better travel experience to passengers but also reduce the number of flight delays. It is looking to enhance airport technology and add additional gates at terminals to allow for higher traffic volumes.

What do you think of the FAA's statement? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Bloomberg