Even with sharply reduced schedules, airlines are consolidating some of the remaining flights because passengers aren’t showing up.
An official of one major U.S. airline, who asked that they and their airline not be identified, ticked off more than a dozen flights that departed on Tuesday morning with fewer than 10 passengers on board. In a few cases, pilots and flight attendants outnumbered passengers.
The official said the average flight was just over 20% full and that figure is expected to drop into the teens by the weekend.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 331,000 people at airport checkpoints on Monday, an 86% decline from the corresponding Monday a year ago, more than 2.4 million people poured through checkpoints.
Major airlines are drafting plans in case they must shut down domestic flights because of a lack of air traffic controllers or airport screeners.
“We have plans in place in case that happens,” the airline official said. “It’s a dire situation.”
An official at another major carrier called it “prudent contingency planning” given that health experts advise against gathering of more than 10 people.
“We do not have plans to voluntarily ground, (but) we’re wary of government actions... that could force us to ground the airline,” such as the Federal Aviation Administration closing control towers or airspace or governors ordering that airports be shut down, said the person, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss planning that has not been made public.
This story is from the March 28, 2020 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 28, 2020 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EUROPEAN UNION QUESTIONS TIKTOK ON NEW APP THAT PAYS USERS FOR WATCHING
European Union regulators said this week they’re seeking details from TikTok on a new app from the video sharing platform that pays users to watch videos.
FACED WITH POSSIBLY PAYING FOR NEWS, GOOGLE REMOVES LINKS TO CALIFORNIA NEWS SITES FOR SOME USERS
Google began removing California news websites from some people’s search results, a test that acted as a threat should the state Legislature pass a law requiring the search giant to pay media companies for linking to their content.
UBER AND LYFT DELAY THEIR PLANS TO LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS AFTER OFFICIALS PUSH BACK DRIVER PAY PLAN
The ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft said they will delay their planned exit from Minneapolis after city officials decided to push back the start of a driver pay raise by two months.
NASA IS SEEKING A FASTER AND CHEAPER WAY TO BRING MARS SAMPLES TO EARTH
NASA’s plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there’s a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said.
TESLA TO ASK SHAREHOLDERS TO REINSTATE $55 BILLION PAY PACKAGE FOR MUSK REJECTED BY DELAWARE JUDGE
Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate a compensation package for CEO Elon Musk potentially worth $55 billion that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric car maker’s corporate home from Delaware to Texas.
MICROSOFT INVESTS $1.5 BILLION IN AI FIRM G42, OVERSEEN BY UAE'S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in a technology firm based in the United Arab Emirates and overseen by the country’s powerful national security adviser.
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIAL WARNS AI SYSTEMS SUBJECT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION, ANTI-BIAS LAWS
Developers, suppliers, and users of artificial intelligence must comply with existing state consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data privacy laws, the Massachusetts attorney general cautioned this week.
AMAZON REMOVED JUST WALK OUT FROM MANY OF ITS OWN STORES BUT WANTS TO SELL THE SYSTEM TO OTHERS
Amazon wants the public and - especially other businesses - to know it's not giving up on its Just Walk Out technology.
NISSAN SAYS IT WILL MAKE NEXT-GENERATION EV BATTERIES BY EARLY 2029
Nissan expects to mass produce electric vehicles powered by advanced next-generation batteries by early 2029, the company said this week during a media tour of an unfinished pilot plant.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AGREES TO PROVIDE $6.4 BILLION TO SAMSUNG FOR MAKING COMPUTER CHIPS IN TEXAS
The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.