The FAA is also looking at how to lower the attrition rate for aspiring air traffic controllers.
“There’s a fairly high failure rate” at the training academy, Whitaker told reporters on Monday. “My initial focus has been on how to make these numbers go up quickly without lowering standards.”
While troubling, some of the challenges outlined in the independent safety review are not new.
“We have not put the resources we need into funding the air traffic control system — not just this year or last year, but for decades,” said Geoff Freeman, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “We have not prioritized it. We’ve kicked the can down the road on modernization efforts, and we’re paying the price for that today.”
Flight attendants brace for the holiday rush
Full planes and crowded overhead bins could also make for a challenging holiday in the flight cabin.
“The holidays have always been a time period that flight attendants sort of dread going to work,” said Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants union.