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Washington, DC -- U.S. Rep. Ron Klein (FL-22) Friday issued the following statement concerning President Bush’s directive to the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with a plan that will improve the government's system for handling passengers' complaints and boost the quality of air travel.
“Anyone who has flown on a commercial airplane over the past few years is well aware of the fact that the state of air travel has significantly worsened. An aging infrastructure, outdated technology and equipment, unrealistic flight schedules, overstretched workforce of air traffic controllers and pilots, computer glitches, and inadequate spacing between planes have all been cited as contributing to the problems with air travel. Unfortunately, over the past number of years, no action has been taken to solve a problem that has developed to the point where it’s now a crisis.
“Last week, I successfully offered an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization bill that expands the government’s ability to investigate fraudulent and reckless airline practices. And earlier this week, I sent a letter to the FAA, urging them to collect and analyze flight schedules coming in and out of Ft. Lauderdale International to determine whether too many flights are being scheduled in a condensed period of time, which often leads to delays due to overcrowded runways. This will allow us to be proactive -- rather than reactive -- and anticipate delays before they occur, as opposed to after.
“The state of airline travel today is simply unacceptable. We need to get to the bottom of these problems, identify solutions, and implement those solutions immediately. I stand ready and willing to tackle these problems with my colleagues in Congress and the Bush Administration, so that we can return the state of airline travel back to one of efficiency, courtesy, civility and fairness.”
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