FAA offers fix for snarled Florida air travel this summer

Federal officials are promising to add air traffic controllers and take other steps to improve the flow of planes in Florida, which airlines say has become a weak link in the national airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it will add staff at a key air traffic control center in Jacksonville and other places, although it didn’t provide numbers.

The promise came during a two-day meeting between FAA officials and representatives of about a dozen airlines. The airlines told the FAA that the number of Florida flights will shoot past 2019 levels.

Air travel to Florida increased faster than other places during the pandemic. Airlines have also scheduled more flights this summer. This raises concerns about the potential for widespread disruptions that could spread far beyond the state’s borders.

The FAA stated that it has also agreed to keep airlines updated about space launches and other events which could impact the routes airlines use in Florida. Airlines claim they were caught unaware by route closures that forced them to cancel flights.

Most noteworthy, Southwest Airlines blamed bad weather and air traffic control in Florida for cascading problems that led it to cancel more than 2,000 flights over three days last October. JetBlue Airways attributed the cancellations to these and other factors last month.

The FAA stated that it will use alternate routes more often, sometimes at lower altitudes to increase fuel burn, in order to keep planes moving following disruptions. According to the FAA, it will also create a plan to respond to snarls similar to its New York City operation.