US Airlines Asked to Explain Worker Shortages Despite Billions in Bailout Funds

US airlines are under fire as a senator wants them to explain the recent worker shortage issue. The federal government funded the airline industry a total of $54 billion during the peak of the pandemic. Its purpose is to keep the industry afloat and to cover most of the US airlines’ payroll costs. On top of that, the government also provided $25 billion in low-cost loans to the industry.

But despite the efforts, airlines are struggling to keep up with the current travel demand. The Chair of the US Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Maria Cantwell asked chief executives of six airlines to explain what caused the worker shortages despite the billions of bailouts received by the industry.

In a letter by Senator Cantwell, she wanted answers for “recent reports of workforce shortages, flight cancellations, and delays”.

Worker Shortages and More

According to the Transportation Security Administration, air traffic hit almost 2.2 million last Sunday. This was the highest number of air travelers since February 2020.

Cantwell said that the airlines “poorly managed its marketing of flights and workforce as more people are traveling, and at worst, it failed to meet the intent of tax payer funding and prepare for the surge in travel that we are now witnessing”.

The senator asked airline executives whether they’ve utilized the entire US Payroll assistance. The senator also wants to know the steps that airlines did to anticipate or solve the current worker shortages.

In June, American Airlines canceled 1% of its July flights. On the other hand, Southwest struggled with a combination of problems including worker shortages, computer problems, and weather issues.

Southwest claims that they are the only airline to not furlough any of their staff. According to their spokeswoman, “We were staffed for what we’re flying and we’re flying for what we staffed”. Some airlines are now hiring to meet the current travel demand. Also, others are scrambling to re-train their pilots to facilitate their earliest return.