Unions Praise PSP for Thanksgiving Success, While Senator Wants Answers on Airline Staffing

While airlines were able to manage the sharp influx of passengers, how it came to be may still be in question. Although one of the leading aviation unions says Payroll Support Programs were instrumental, one U.S. senator wants more information about how carriers are staffing up.

Union Credits Funding, While Senator Questions Hiring

According to the latest numbers from the Transportation Security Administration, over 16 million people passed through airport checkpoints during the seven-day period ending November 28, 2021. The daily average of 2.4 million flyers was a significant increase from the same period in 2020 and comparable to 2019 numbers.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA was quick to credit the CARES Act and other government programs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for keeping flights on-time and relatively incident free. Aside from an incident aboard a Spirit Airlines flight, union president Sara Nelson specifically called out multiple Payroll Support Program funding rounds as the key to helping airlines maintain their employment.

“The Payroll Support Program that required government funds to be focused on workers created a ‘groundswell up’ rather than the mythical ‘trickle down’ economics,” Nelson said in a statement. “It’s a proven program now and the concept should be repeated as we rebuild our economy with policies that invest in people.”

However, not everyone is sold on the idea that government funding is the right long-term solution. Over the summer of 2021, at least three airlines – American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit – experienced network meltdowns exacerbated by staffing shortages.

As a result, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wants airline executives to provide answers on how their staffing money is being used. Reuters reports the Democrat has asked the heads of the seven major U.S. based airlines to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee.

Although the exact questions Cantwell plans to ask have not been released, it is widely believed they will focus on airline hiring and staffing levels based on her previous questioning. In July 2021, the senator asked the U.S. carriers several direct questions about their workforce, including how much money airlines spent from the third PSP round and how many workers left their jobs between March 2020 and July.

Lawmakers Get More Involved in Airline Policy

The request to testify is the latest move by Congress to get more involved in airline operations in a post-pandemic world. After asking airlines to extend booking credits and refunds to flyers forced to cancel flights, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) will re-submit a bill enhancing consumer protections, including guaranteed refunds and rebooking procedures. In November 2021, a group of lawmakers from both chambers wrote a letter to the White House asking for a vaccine mandate for flights operated by U.S. carriers.

Feature image courtesy: Tim Mossholder via Unsplash