ALBAWABA - United States President Joe Biden announced his administration's intention to introduce a new law that would require U.S. airlines to provide compensation to passengers for any flight delays or cancellations.
In a tweet from his official Twitter account, Biden addressed travelers, stating, "I know you have had enough of the level of service provided to you by the airlines." Airlines bear the cost.
Biden's administration publicly criticized airlines last summer for flight delays and cancellations, while officials at the Federal Aviation Administration were well aware that their agency also shared responsibility for the disruption of thousands of flights, according to internal FAA records that were not previously reported.
Through intense pressure exerted on airlines, the Biden administration was able to secure compensation for customers affected by the frustrating air travel conditions, despite some delayed flights being caused by a shortage of government employees. Who is responsible for the delays?
According to CNN's obtained records, the issue lay with the FAA's staffing shortage at a major air traffic control facility in northern Florida, which was inundated with heavy traffic to Florida and the Caribbean, resulting in a slowdown of air traffic flow and delays that inconvenienced passengers even on clear weather days.
In an email, an official leading the FAA's air traffic control arm attributed the delays, even on clear days, to a shortage of control units, stating, "I don't think we have any excuses other than the direct shortage of certified control units in multiple areas."
In its defense, the Department of Transportation told CNN this week that it had been "extremely transparent and public about the challenges it faced in Florida" last summer. The FAA pointed out that data analyzed by the aviation industry showed that the number of delays caused by airlines was four times higher than the delays caused by the FAA.
