More Americans are expected to go home for the holidays by air this year than did a year ago. And, no matter the weather, many travelers will likely face travel delays. An airline trade group says one big problem is outdated technology.
Airlines for America, a trade organization for leading U.S. airlines, says about 25.3 million people will fly home for the holidays next month, a 3-percent increase over last year.
Vice President Jean Medina said the politics of the budgetary process in Washington is a major obstacle. She’d like to see the industry privatized, to increase efficiency,
“Look, we can move this out of the government. We can adopt a federally-chartered, non-profit organization similar to those used in other countries that would remove those hurdles of funding and governance and enable the system to be moving forward as it should be," said Medina.
Medina said the technology to improve the system has been available for years. Airlines for America says the failure to budget for air traffic control updates costs Americans $30 billion a year in the form of delays, cancellations and lost productivity.
