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U.S. NEWS Saturday 25 June 2022
Airlines aim to shift blame for flight problems to FAA

By DAVID KOENIG Buttigieg said he called
AP Airlines Writer the meeting after being
DALLAS (AP) — Airlines un- alarmed by the high num-
der scrutiny for widespread ber of canceled flights
flight disruptions are re- around Memorial Day —
newing their criticism of more than 2,700 in a five-
the government agency day stretch, according to
that manages the nation’s tracking service FlightA-
airspace, saying that un- ware. Thunderstorms can
derstaffing at the Federal quickly snarl air traffic dur-
Aviation Administration is ing the summer, but airlines
“crippling” traffic along the have also acknowledged
East Coast. staffing shortages — they
Airlines for America, which are hiring at a rapid pace
represents the largest U.S. to replace tens of thou-
carriers, said Friday it wants sands of workers whom the
to know FAA’s staffing plans airlines paid to quit when
for the July Fourth holiday travel collapsed in 2020.
weekend, “so we can plan Pilot union leaders say their
accordingly.” groups are being stretched
The comments from the to the limit, and more pilots
industry group could serve report being fatigued.
as a pre-emptive defense The FAA has admitted that
in case airlines again suf- Planes sit on the tarmac at the Des Moines International Airport, Monday, June 13, 2022, in Des it too is understaffed, par-
fer thousands of canceled Moines, Iowa. Associated Press ticularly at a key air traffic
and delayed flights over control center in Florida.
the holiday weekend, they originally planned for restrictions under blue sky American people deserve Calio said that facility, near
when travel is expected June through August to conditions,” he added. to have their expectations Jacksonville, Florida, has
to set new pandemic-era make the remaining flights The FAA shot back, with met.” The FAA said it has been understaffed for 27 of
highs. “The industry is ac- more reliable, they are hir- a reference to taxpayer added controllers in high- the last 30 days, “which is
tively and nimbly doing ev- ing and training more pi- money that airlines re- traffic areas and added crippling to the entire East
erything possible to create lots and customer-service ceived after the pandemic alternate routes to keep Coast traffic flows.”
a positive customer experi- agents, and giving pas- devastated air travel. planes moving. More than 500 U.S. flights
ence since it is in an airline’s sengers more flexibility to “People expect when they The airline trade group had been canceled and
inherent interest to keep change travel plans. buy an airline ticket that chief’s comments came a more than 2,300 delayed
customers happy, so they Calio said air traffic is often they’ll get where they need week after Buttigieg called by early afternoon Fri-
return for future business,” disrupted “for many hours” to go safely, efficiently, re- airline leaders to a virtual day, according to FlightA-
Nicholas Calio, president of because bad weather liably and affordably,” the meeting and threatened ware. That was better than
the trade group, said in a causes the the FAA to issue FAA said in a statement. to punish carriers that fail to Thursday, however, when
letter to Transportation Sec- delays. “However, we have “After receiving $54 billion meet consumer-protection thunderstorms on the East
retary Pete Buttigieg. also observed that FAA (air in pandemic relief to help standards set by his depart- Coast contributed to more
Calio said airlines have traffic control) staffing chal- save the airlines from mass ment, which includes the than 800 cancellations and
dropped 15% of the flights lenges have led to traffic layoffs and bankruptcy, the FAA. 6,600 delays.q

Federal court blocks FDA ban on Juul

e-cigarette sales in U.S.

By TOM MURPHY The FDA said Thursday cation left regulators with
AP Health Writer that Juul must stop selling significant questions and
A federal court on Friday its vaping device and its didn’t include enough in-
temporarily blocked the tobacco and menthol fla- formation to evaluate any
government’s order for Juul vored cartridges. potential health risks. Juul
to stop selling its electronic The action was part of a said it submitted enough
cigarettes. sweeping effort by the information and data to
Juul had filed an emer- agency to bring scientific address all issues raised.
gency motion earlier Friday scrutiny to the multibillion- The company said the FDA
with the U.S. Court of Ap- dollar vaping industry after refused its request to put A woman exhales while vaping from a Juul pen e-cigarette in
peals in Washington so it years of regulatory delays. its order on hold to avoid Vancouver, Wash., April 16, 2019.
can appeal the sales ban, To stay on the market, com- a massive disruption to its Associated Press
and the court later granted panies must show that their business.
the request. e-cigarettes benefit pub- While Juul remains a top the teen vaping rate and a The company said in its Fri-
The e-cigarette maker had lic health. In practice, that seller, its share of the U.S. shift away from Juul’s prod- day court filing that it sub-
asked the court to pause means proving that adult e-cigarette market has ucts. mitted a 125,000-page ap-
what it called an “extraor- smokers who use them are dipped to about half. The devices heat a nico- plication to the FDA nearly
dinary and unlawful ac- likely to quit or reduce their The company was widely tine solution into a vapor two years ago. It said the
tion” by the Food and Drug smoking, while teens are blamed for a surge in un- that’s inhaled, bypassing application included sev-
Administration that would unlikely to get hooked on derage vaping a few years many of the toxic chemi- eral studies to evaluate
have required it to immedi- them. ago, but a recent federal cals produced by burning the health risks among Juul
ately halt its business. The FDA said Juul’s appli- survey showed a drop in tobacco. users.q