There are a few factors at work behind the widespread disruptions, cancellations and plane groundings at airlines like American, Delta and Alaska. One of them is U.S. Representative James Oberster (D – Minnesota). He is the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which is demanding the tougher scrutiny of airline upkeep that we see the Federal Aviation Administration now responding to.
Congress went easy on the airline industry during the immediate aftermath of 9-11, given the financial hit carriers took in the wake of decreases in passenger traffic. But now passenger numbers are up, and airlines like Southwest have acknowledged lapses in mandatory safety inspections. Congress has turned its helping hand into a fist.
“[This is all] an effort to get [airlines] back on course, to being the gold standard in the world for aviation safety oversight and maintenance oversight, and to re-establish a safety mind-set and culture with in the [FAA], instead of this coddling of the industry,” Oberster told the New York Times yesterday.
The FAA seems to be listening. Today it is breaking the bad news that a broader round of airline inspections are likely to last through June. The FAA also suggests that further groundings are likely not just in the coming few weeks, but during the next few months.
The inspections, like the ones at American, are targeting specific things (at American, it’s faulty wiring in the wheel wells and along the wings of its MD-80 fleet). But there is a broader investigation also ongoing here, as airlines are under increased pressure to prove their compliance with industry safety regulations.
Of course, passengers suffer, in the form of flight delays and cancellations. Some of the biggest hubs in the country, like O’Hare and LaGuardia, have been most affected.
I want to put this question out there: Are these travel inconveniences acceptable if it means that we have an aviation system that is taking our safety seriously, or is it more important to arrive to our destinations on schedule? Let me know what you think.