US Senate Commerce Committee Planning to Conduct an Oversight Hearing As Airlines Deal With Staffing Problems

The chair of the US Senate Commerce Committee is looking to have an oversight hearing on the airline industry. Senator Maria Cantwell questioned US airlines in July to explain the staffing problems despite getting billions from the federal government.

Oversight Hearing on December 8

Senator Maria Cantwell sent the letters to chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air lines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue Airways. The oversight hearing is tentatively scheduled for December 8.

Cantwell said that “We’re going to continue to do our oversight role and I think the public wants to know”.

Congress approved three separate instances where the airline industry received bailout funds. It was a total of $54 billion meant to cover airlines’ payroll costs through September 30.

Staffing Shortages Persist

Airlines such as Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and Spirit Airlines are experiencing staffing shortages. However, airlines ramped up flights for the holiday season, despite struggling to find pilots and flight attendants.

Casey Murray of Southwest’s pilot union said that the airline initially reduced scheduled flights for fall because of staffing shortages. However, the airline since then had a change of heart, adding flights resulting in problems.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing major airlines, declined to comment on the upcoming oversight hearing.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson said that the difficulties were from “changes in consumer behavior”. He added that “They probably don’t have as much buffer in their schedule as their schedule had previously”.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that the airline added flights even if it was “sacrificing some possible short-term profits to ensure a reliable operation”.

In Cantwell’s letters, the chair of the US Senate Commerce Committee asked about several issues including workforce shortages, flight cancelations, and delays.

According to Cantwell’s letter, each airline “poorly managed its marketing of flights and workforce as more people are traveling, and at worst, it failed to meet the intent of taxpayer funding and prepare for the surge in travel that we are now witnessing”. As part of the deal with the government, airlines can’t issue involuntary layoffs or slash worker pay.