Summit takes off

Government, airline industry officials meet over flight delays

From Kathleen Koch
CNN Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Travelers aren't the only ones frustrated about this summer's flight delays. The United States government is so concerned that it's holding a summit Monday with airlines, labor unions and airport officials.

Record delays that stranded thousands of travelers in June did ease somewhat in July. But that hasn't eased pressure on the government, which is meeting with airline industry leaders in hopes of finding answers.

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"It's really time to sit down with the industry and talk about how we address this issue," U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said. "We're beyond this point where any one person can point the finger at another."

The troubles have been particularly acute for United Airlines, which blamed bad weather and a labor dispute with pilots for the cancellation of thousands of its flights. But the problems in the industry are widespread, and few expect the two-hour meeting to break the gridlock gripping the nation's skies.

"We've had passengers stranded on taxiways for longer than that," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "I think it's really going to be a session for the secretary to browbeat people and really deflect blame from the Department of Transportation and the FAA."

One aviation expert says delays will drop only when the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration accept responsibility for their share of the problem.

"That means airlines have to schedule realistically," former FAA chief of staff Michael Goldfarb said. "Air traffic control has to be modernized. Congress has to give the monies to the agency to truly do that. So everybody has something they have to give and right now we have a culture of blame."

The FAA has begun daily conferences with airlines to plan for bad weather and other problems. It also plans to better track delays, since currently it doesn't count cancellations. Sixteen runway expansion projects also are underway at the nation's top 25 airports.

But the number of air travelers is expected to rise nearly 50 percent over the next 10 years, so most industry observers believe major changes will be necessary to sustain a system already pushed to its limits.

"If we can get together and decide (on a) path in the next five years we can avoid the gridlock we've experienced this summer," Stempler said. "Otherwise, it's going to get worse."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Better weather, fewer canceled flights greet United travelers
August 9, 2000
Skies are full, unfriendly as United cuts flights
August 8, 2000
Aviation looks to cut delays through technology
July 27, 2000

United Airlines
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Air Travelers Association

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