By Staff
How do you even begin to express the frustrations Americans have with the airlines these days?
First most of them admitted they did not follow the timetable of inspections required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Then, because they had not followed those inspections, several airlines had to ground entire fleets in the past two weeks to make sure their aircraft are safe.
The airlines and the FAA have had a complete disregard for the safety of the flying public. Never mind the inconvenience of having so many flights cancelled, there is no telling what could have happened to any number of passengers because of the irresponsibility of the airlines and the federal regulatory agency assigned to oversee them.
We expect that the federal government will put intense scrutiny on the process from now on - and look at what solutions are needed to make sure that the lapse in inspections never happens again.
We wish airlines that did not follow regulations would be fined heavily - the problem is, those fines will be passed on to the already inconvenienced flying public in the form of higher ticket prices.
It's unbelievable how vicious the circle of irresponsibility, costliness and inconvenience these lapses in judgment have caused - and we know that the people who will suffer the most are the people who already pay a lot to fly.
We need stricter guidelines for airlines, and we need better people to enforce them.