New FAA nominee will face challenges with delays, near misses
- Cancellations, delays and near misses have affected commercial airlines
- Unruly passengers are another problem the industry is confronting
- The nominee is the Biden administration's second attempt to name a leader
A United Airlines jetliner taxis to a runway for takeoff from Denver International Airport, Dec. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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(NewsNation) — The airline industry has struggled with recent delays, cancellations and near misses on runways. Now, the Biden administration has announced a new nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration.
More Americans are flying now than before the pandemic, but passengers have faced high-profile mishaps recently. Turning that around will fall on the shoulders of the new nominee for FAA administrator.
Michael Whitaker was formerly deputy administrator for the agency and is a private pilot and veteran airline executive. He’s currently the chief operating officer of a Hyundai affiliate working on aircraft.
Whitaker has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, but if he becomes FAA head, he will be tasked with addressing several problems that have plagued travelers lately.
Videos on social media have shown unruly passengers, flight delays and cancellations. There is also a shortage of pilots and air traffic control workers.
Recently, there have even been some close calls on runways involving commercial airplanes nearly crashing into each other.
“So I think the main thing is restoring confidence in safety. There’s been a lot of near misses lately. That’s a disturbing trend. You know, we have one of the most spotless records for air safety. So you want to make sure you get ahead of that issue,” said Clint Henderson, managing editor for The Points Guy.
“Get ahead of the near misses, really get behind some technological advances and finally tackling the super terrible shortage of air traffic controllers in the country. So there are some issues to work on, for sure.”
Whitaker already has some support within the aviation industry, including from the Association of Flight Attendants president. She’s urged the Senate to confirm Whitaker quickly.
The FAA hasn’t had a permanent leader for 18 months. This is the second time the Biden administration has tried to appoint a leader. It has been searching for the right person since early last year, when former President Donald Trump’s pick quit in the middle of his five-year term.
Previously, the Biden administration nominated Philip Washington, but he withdrew his name from the nomination in March after his confirmation stalled in the Senate.
Some Republicans argued he didn’t have the right aviation experience to get the job done.
