Fliers could be delayed up to four hours because of air traffic controller furloughs planned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airline trade organization charges in a new lawsuit.
Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, filed suit in the U.S. Appellate Court for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking a stay to halt the FAA’s so-calledCapacity Reduction Plan
“Air traffic controllers have never been furloughed, regardless of any budget cuts, and there is a reason for that—they are critical to maintain the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System,” A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio said in a statement.
“We continue to believe that the FAA has other means to reach a 10 percent budget reduction than to impact the traveling public. When a company needs to make a 10 percent budget reduction, the answer is not to make it is so inefficient that no one wants to do business with it anymore,” Calio added. “That’s essentially what the FAA is proposing, and in doing so harming the 2 million passengers and shippers that fund two-thirds of its budget.”
