Secretary Buttigieg works on making your travels turbulence-free

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Seven and a half million people will be traveling through airports this holiday season, according to AAA. That might mean crowds and lines, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Tuesday it doesn’t need to mean delays.

“Even during the busiest days of Thanksgiving travel cancellations stayed below 1%. In fact, so far this year, I don’t want to jinx us, but so far 2023 has seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years,” he said.

With winter weather through much of the country, there’s a chance you might see some travel delays. But Buttigieg said airlines are doing everything in their power to make sure you get to your destination on time.

“When you have a cancellation or delay, you can go to our dashboard at flightrights.gov for up-to-date information. I encourage travelers to get that information before traveling. I want to emphasize the practical impact of that transparency because when we put airlines on notice that we were going to publish that dashboard, it took just a few days for all of them to change their customer service policies,” said the secretary.

Buttigieg said holding airlines accountable remains a priority. “If your flight gets canceled for any reason, you’re entitled to a full refund,” he said.

While he’s holding airlines accountable for providing a service, he advises travelers should be held accountable as well.

“It would be nice if you could say something nice to the people who are getting you to where you’re going. The number of people from flight attendants, to pilots, to the folks pushing the wheelchairs here at the airport, to the people who clean the plane, all of those people have a part in getting you to where you’re going. Let’s say in addition to not assaulting anyone, be nice to them and thank them for what they’re doing to get you to your loved ones,” said Buttigieg on Tuesday.

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