Total chaos in US aviation before 4J

04-07-23

The Fourth of July and the days before and after are one of the busiest periods in US aviation as families and friends take the opportunity to travel. But this year will be remembered not for reunions but for chaos. Since last Saturday, more than 50,000 flights have been cancelled in the United States, not only preventing passengers but also crews from travelling. United replaces Southwest as the first cause - and victim - of the chaos.

According to United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby, it all started with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) decision to reduce the number of flights allowed in the New York area last weekend. And it's been disastrous from there. And it's been broadcast live on social media. Not only travellers are complaining but crews, lost at airports across the country.

A United Airlines flight crew member said she was 'stranded' for a night without a hotel. What started as a technical delay turned into a chain of nonsense because the airline's scheduling departments have been overwhelmed. The crew could not contact the airline because the lines were overwhelmed and it was later discovered that there were no pilots available either, so the flight was cancelled. But no one asked for a hotel. A chaos comparable to that of Southwest at the end of last year. Now the main defendant is United.

Its CEO, on top of that, while an incredible number of planes were on the ground, was flying in a private plane, paid for by the company, and generating a simple but very passionate controversy.

United staff are now in the media: "Let me say this was not weather related; we've had bad weather all year and we know how to handle it. This was at least 90 percent scheduling fault," said a purser whose flight was cancelled and took the company six hours to register its schedule change.

Order chains have been overwhelmed and the result was 50,000 cancelled flights for the week, with two more challenges looming: the 4th of July on the one hand and, as of today, possible restrictions due to the introduction of 5G technology in the country.