JetBlue Airways Corp is urging President-elect Donald Trump to bolster the nation’s air traffic control system, which industry leaders have blamed for travel disruptions due to insufficient staffing and outdated technology.
“I wish this administration would focus more on air traffic control,” Chief Executive Officer Joanna Geraghty said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Tuesday. “That has definitely been a meaningful pressure for JetBlue and other airlines.”
The nation is “grossly understaffed” in air traffic controllers, she said, and “we should be able to have a more resilient air traffic system.” JetBlue and other carriers with large operations in the New York area have been particularly hard hit by the shortages.
Halts to hiring and training during the pandemic, along with retirements, created a shortfall in the number of air traffic controllers, straining the aviation system. The Federal Aviation Administration hired 1,811 controllers this year, the largest number in nearly a decade.
“I’d love to see more hiring, better technology and ultimately improving the amount of delays that come out of air traffic control,” Geraghty said. She noted that she has not met with members of the incoming administration.
Joanna Geraghty, chief executive officer of JetBlue Airways.
