United Airlines CEO Makes Very Encouraging Admission
The state of air travel in the United States isn't inspiring a great deal of confidence for travelers, but the CEO of one of the country's biggest airlines says that change could be on the way.
During an interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan for "Face the Nation," United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby expressed positivity about potential reform and improvement.
"This is the most optimistic I've been in my entire career about finally getting the FAA fixed," Kirby said.
"I and others in the aviation industry have been working on this for decades, and I think we're finally– we've turned the corner, and we have the commitment."
Kirby's comments come amid widespread issues at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Multiple outages have prevented air traffic controllers from monitoring incoming planes, and delays have affected travelers at the airport for several weeks.
Friday marked the second ATC outage at the airport in two weeks, as controllers were unable to communicate with planes for as long as 90 seconds.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has committed to working to fix the issue, but noted that "it's going to be billions, lots of billions" in order to fix things.
Kirby remained optimistic despite the potential cost, citing a desire to reach across the aisle to fix the issue.
"It's bipartisan, it's bicameral," the CEO said in an interview with CBS News' Ed O'Keefe.
"Senate, House, administration, Secretary Duffy — across the board, a commitment to getting this fixed. We know how to do it."
Kirby also praised Duffy for being "action-oriented" and "committed to getting this done."
The CEO also stressed to passengers that they were safe to fly out of Newark, or from any other airport for that matter. He explained that in instances of outages, pilots are trained to find other ways to orient themselves in the air.
"What happens is the pilots look for alternative frequencies," Kirby said.
"They go to alternative centers with alternative radars, and they also have a system in the airplane where they can see, its equivalent of radar, they can see their position in the air, in the sky, and all the other aircraft around them."