US Authorities Set To Tackle US Flight Delays
When the first statistic you find is that nearly one third of all US flights are delayed or cancelled, you can see why the US authorities have decided to do something about it!
George Bush has given the go ahead for the Department of Transport to devise a plan to slash the delays, and make the whole system more dependable and viable. It has also been announced that flight delays for the year ended July passed the one million mark for the first time ever, up twenty percent from the previous year. Quite how the US airline industry has got into such a state has surprised many, but at least the wheels are in motion for change.
While the authorities seem to be putting the blame onto the airports and the airlines, there are some in the industry who feel that government spending on what is now an aging air traffic control system, has been somewhat lacking. As always it would seem that the truth about who is actually to blame lies some where in the middle, although the extra security checks required due to the threat of terrorism have not helped the situation.
The US is by far and away the busiest country in the world when it comes to both internal and external flights, with some 647,000 flights scheduled just for the month of July!
While the investigation into the delays and cancellations has been warmly welcomed, it may well coincide with a further opening of both the European and US skies to rival airlines. There have been a number of well publicised disagreements regarding the granting of access to the US airline industry for non-US carriers. Are we seeing the US putting their house in order before an opening of both the EU and US markets?
Something which will hopefully result in cheaper flights for the consumer……….