The nation’s airlines continue their seemingly endless struggle with systematic dysfunction.
More than 2,000 flights were delayed in the advance of the pre-Fourth of July weekend, according to The Hill.
Many travelers took aim at Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg amid the cancellations, questioning his commitment to safeguarding the rights of air travel consumers.
One traveler recounted being stuck at the Denver airport for the entire weekend without receiving accommodation from United Airlines.
It’s 4:30am in the Denver airport. Cleaners are about now. Since Thursday, I’ve had 3 cancellations. multiple delays. and no accommodation. @united this is unacceptable. do better. @SecretaryPete @nytimes pic.twitter.com/xxstMp0dqK
— Bree Hocking (@BreeHocking) July 2, 2023
Sunrise at the Denver airport. No such thing as beauty sleep here. Not a wink. Thanks @United for a truly miserable start to the holiday weekend. Compensate and accommodate your passengers. @SecretaryPete @nytimes pic.twitter.com/E3bcUL5v8J
— Bree Hocking (@BreeHocking) July 2, 2023
Buttigieg pointed to unstable weather as a factor in the spree of cancellations, claiming the circumstances were beyond his control, according to The Hill.
Buttigieg cited what he called a record-setting amount of air travelers in defending his department’s record, touting the lowest flight cancellation percentage since the start of the week.
Yesterday saw an all-time record number of US airline passengers. At 2.7%, the overall cancellation rate was the lowest since the week began. Good progress here—FAA will continue to work with airlines to manage weather & reduce delays. https://t.co/v3sTvAN46z
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 2, 2023
This is far from Buttigieg’s first rodeo with mass cancellations and travel dysfunction.
Buttigieg called out the airlines with fiery rhetoric amid a spree of Christmas cancellations, pledging to prevent the same situation from occurring again.
Dysfunction had earlier left thousands of travelers stranded earlier in summer 2022, with many pointing to Buttigieg’s regulation of the nation’s airlines as lacking.
The former small-town mayor and failed presidential candidate has opted to focus on political punditry amid the nation’s transportation woes, finding time to critique Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign ads as passengers languish in airports.
Buttigieg questioned DeSantis’ manhood in a Sunday CNN interview.
Buttigieg on DeSantis video: I’m going to leave aside the strangeness of trying to prove your manhood by putting up a video that splices images of you in between oiled up shirtless body builders.. pic.twitter.com/fbDpoEBrg7
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 2, 2023
The Democrat’s critics have pointed to his preference for heated rhetoric — without delivering real results for stranded air travelers.
Buttigieg’s inability to oversee America’s transportation and travel has also spurred congressional scrutiny.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.