Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg proposing that the federal government take "immediate action" to reduce flight cancellations and delays that have been inconveniencing American travelers this summer.
According to Sanders, the U.S. government ought to fine airlines $55,000 per passenger for each flight the airline must cancel due to staffing shortages. Airlines also ought to be fined by the government $27,500 per passenger for each domestic flight delayed over two hours where passengers must sit on the tarmac, and $15,000 per passenger for each domestic flight delayed by more than two hours if tarmac loitering is not a factor. (Neither fine would be required if weather forces a delay.) For flights delayed by merely one hour, Sanders wants the federal government to force airlines to give passengers refunds.
