As Travel Noire reported earlier this month, the entire aviation industry has been feeling the effects of the pilot shortage. This situation is caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent slowing of hiring and training, as well as the early retirement of thousands of pilots. The current understaffed crisis is troubling all major US airline companies, resulting in a heavy volume of flight delays and cancelations this year.
Now, in order to explain to its passengers why they are having to face those issues, pilots with Delta Air Lines wrote an open letter where they said they were just as frustrated as passengers by disruption in the industry. The letter was made public last Thursday, according to Business Insider.
“We empathize and share in your frustration over the delays, cancellations, and disrupted travel plans you’ve experienced. We agree; it is unacceptable,” Delta’s pilots said in the letter. “We are disheartened when we witness the impact of your disrupted travel plans. We have been working on our days off, flying a record amount of overtime to help you get to your destination,” they added.
The pilots emphasized that this current problem is a warning signal to passengers, saying they were “flying a record amount of overtime” amid the airline industry’s struggle with delays, staff shortages, and cancellations.
According to them, at the current rate, 2022 will be the busiest year to date within the aviation industry, with more flights than in the entirety of 2018 and 2019 combined.
The pilots also said Delta leaders need to work harder to avoid flight delays and cancelations so customers do not “lose confidence” in the airline.
“As we welcome you aboard, we will continue to go above and beyond to ensure the integrity of the operation. Delta’s management needs to do the same before you lose confidence in the Delta brand.”
Delta recently announced that it was cancelling around 100 daily departures in the US and Latin America, in a move similar to other airlines.
