WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Millions of people are planning to travel this memorial day weekend, some of them by air. After recent airline meltdowns the Department of Transportation says they’ve taken steps to try and hold airlines accountable and prevent future travel troubles.
Memorial Day travel projections are sky high. Andrew Gross with AAA says their expectations are pointing to a busy weekend for flyers.
“We’re predicting about 3.4 million people are going to go by air. And that’s the highest we’ve seen since 2005,” Gross said.
He says their numbers suggest the holiday airline meltdowns aren’t discouraging people from flying.
“They’ve decided to kind of cross their fingers, maybe get their trip insurance, but they are going to go,” Gross said.
Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the Department of Transportation has been working to make sure travel goes smoothly.
“We have seen airlines deliver considerable improvements in on-time performance in the past few months,” Buttigieg said.
He laid out the two-part approach they’ve been taking: collaborating with airlines to work out logistical kinks and pressuring them to compensate travelers if things go wrong.
“The customer service commitments that we have secured from the airlines are going to make a difference,” Buttigieg said.
He says his department helped get flyers more than a billion dollars in refunds for canceled flights. He also touted the fact that almost all major airlines now guarantee free rebooking and pay for hotels and meals when they are responsible for delays.
“We’re doing everything we can to press Airlines to deliver that good service. And if there is an issue, we have your back,” Buttigieg said.
Sec. Buttigieg promises they’re going to keep working on holding airlines accountable.
“These airlines can be perfectly profitable while treating passengers better and that’s what we’re seeking to do here,” Buttigieg said.
He predicts Memorial Day weekend will be an important indicator of what summer travel will look like.
