Pete Buttigieg travel tips

A group of more than 120 U.S. lawmakers told the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) its computer outage on Wednesday that disrupted 11,000 flights was “completely unacceptable” and demanded the agency explain how it will avoid future incidents.

A group of 15 U.S. senators on Friday demanded Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Bob Jordan answer questions about the low-cost carrier’s holiday meltdown that led to nearly 16,000 flight cancellations.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, January 12, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Many airlines will be unable to meet looming U.S. deadlines to retrofit airplane altimeters to ensure they are not susceptible to 5G wireless interference, the world’s biggest airline trade body warned authorities, saying it could impact the summer international travel season.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the committee’s top Republican urged the Biden administration to halt Chinese airlines and other non-American carriers from flying over Russia on U.S. routes.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on U.S. airlines to follow American Airlines in committing to eliminating family seating fees as part of their customer service plans.

A U.S. government watchdog will audit Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg‘s use of government airplanes for some trips as part of a broad review dating back to 2017.

A group of seven U.S. senators on Tuesday proposed legislation to raise the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65, in a bid to address airline industry staffing issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday issued a safety alert to airlines, pilots and others about the “need for continued vigilance and attention to mitigation of safety risks” after a series of high-profile near collisions.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is withdrawing his nomination after Republican criticism that he was not qualified to serve as the top aviation regulator.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said his administration is writing new rules that will require airlines to compensate passengers with cash for significant flight delays or cancellations when the carriers are responsible.

After two successive summers of travel chaos, U.S. airlines are going all out to prevent large-scale flight disruptions in the face of rising demand.

U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg is taking over as acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration, the department said on Thursday.

On the same day, Wednesday, that United hub Newark Airport, JFK and LaGuardia saw more than 2,000 flight cancellations by a variety of carriers, CEO Scott Kirby chartered a private jet from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to Denver, according to published reports.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote next week on legislation to raise the mandatory commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65 and make other aviation reforms, Republican House leaders said Friday.

You may have heard the term “junk fees” a lot these days. They are these hidden fees across many industries: cable, finance, banking and particularly, the travel industry – airlines and hotels. Since last year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has done many press conferences about the issue. President Biden brought it up in his State of Union speech.

The Federal Aviation Administration will allow airlines to operate fewer flights at New York-area airports through October, as it faces an intractable air traffic controller shortage in the region.

The morning of Monday, July 24, did not start out well for Swiss International Air Lines. Thunderstorms — the bane of all airline operations — hit its home base of Zurich a little before 7 a.m. local time and temporarily halted flights at the airport.

From skiplagging to planes diverting over wine, a constant stream of flight drama has filled many people's news streams and social-media pages.

Flying in this day and age can be inconvenient and uncomfortable even for able-bodied passengers, but for travelers with disabilities, the experience often ranges from a nightmarish juggling act to altogether impossible. But at least one aspect of the in-flight experience is finally poised to improve for fliers with disabilities.

A negative COVID-19 test is now required for international flights into the U.S., but are domestic flights next? In an interview with Axios on HBO, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that there is currently an “active conversation” between the Biden administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on requiring coronavirus testing for domestic flights, that is being guided “by data, by science, by medicine, and by the input of the people who are actually going to have to carry this out.”