We Feel Your Pain

By D.J. Gribbin

Today, when millions of Americans brave the weather and take to the skies for one of the busiest travel days of the year, this administration is taking steps to help lessen the impact of long lines, delays and other air travel frustrations.

To provide immediate relief for holiday travelers, we are temporarily opening military airspace to commercial planes and readjusting operations to get more flights off the ground. These actions will help air travelers over this Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays get home more easily to their family and friends.

Along with these holiday changes, we have proposed a series of new passenger protections to provide consumers more information before buying their tickets, better communication and treatment by the airlines when delays occur, and more recourse when things go wrong. And we’ve made it clear the airlines must do their part to address the chronic delays and customer discontent that were so prevalent this summer.

With these near-term solutions in place, we have also been focused on the long-term goal of updating an outdated air travel system that can no longer keep up with demand. While our strong economy and airline deregulation have made air travel affordable to millions of Americans, limited airspace and airport capacity is forcing our system toward the breaking point.

In February, the administration sent legislation to Congress that would improve our nation’s aging aviation infrastructure and reduce inefficiencies that cause gridlock in our skies. The administration also proposed using innovative strategies — such as charging airlines more to take off or land at peak hours — to minimize congestion at the nation’s busiest airports. Congress has yet to act in a meaningful way on our proposal.

Lawmakers need to take action if we want real change and improvement in air travel. We will do everything we can to address the symptoms, but significant air travel reform must come with involvement from Congress.

D.J. Gribbin is general counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.