One day after a Singapore Airlines flight experienced extreme turbulence that resulted in dozens of injuries and one man’s death, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the incident was “a rare phenomenon.”
In an interview with Spectrum News Wednesday about a variety of safety issues, he said, “flying remains the safest form of travel.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is participating in an international investigation of the Singapore Airlines incident that Buttigieg said was in the early stages.
“We’ll want to make sure we understand what the NTSB learns from this and how that lesson can be applied to keep flights safe in the future,” he said, before recommending that passengers follow “the best practice to have a seatbelt on at all times, just in case, as long as you’re seated.”
Research is currently being conducted into how pilots can receive early warnings about turbulence, beyond their current system of relaying information to flights traveling the same path behind them.
Asked about Boeing, the secretary said the airplane maker is “under a microscope right now.”
He praised the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to deny the company the ability to increase production until it demonstrates safety improvements and said the due date for Boeing to submit a comprehensive safety plan was fast approaching.
“We are doing everything that it takes as a watchdog to make sure that flying remains the safest form of travel,” he said.
The interview with Buttigieg took place ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, which is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year in the United States. Buttigieg said that Friday is expected to be the busiest day when it comes to air travel, with the Transportation Security Administration expected to screen roughly 3 million passengers.
"It's a good time to plan ahead, leave a little extra time," Buttigieg suggested. "And I certainly encourage everyone who is traveling by air to go to FlightRights.Gov, that's the website we set up detailing some of the new passenger protections that we have added."
The Biden administration earlier this month introduced a new rule that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline's control.
Buttigieg said the agency's goal with those new protections is "to drive the most significant increase in passenger rights since the deregulation that took place in the 1980s, and I think this has helped us to achieve that."
"If you are flying, definitely go to our website to learn more about what to expect if you have a problem," he said. "Know that if your flight is canceled or if there's such a major delay you don't take the flight, you should get your money back, and what we've done is we've taken the step of saying that you shouldn't even have to ask."
Buttigieg also mentioned a recently finalized rule requiring airlines to be more transparent about fees for bags, select seats and other amenities before a ticket is booked; the association representing major airline carriers filed a lawsuit to block that rule from going into effect.
He called the rule a "pretty reasonable thing" and said he was "shocked" by the airline lobby's lawsuit, but expressed confidence that the rule is legally sound.
Of motorists over the holiday weekend, Buttigieg added: "If you are driving, as tens of millions of Americans will be, make sure to put safety first, especially because on a holiday weekend, many drivers are in an area they have not driven in before."
He suggested being patient, allow extra travel time, and "just remember, the most important thing is to get to where you're going safely."