The nation's commerce depends on reliable air transportation systemWASHINGTON — It's not just angry passengers who are suffering. The grounding of thousands of flights is disrupting cargo, mail and other crucial business for financially strapped airlines, and that means painful new strains on a U.S. economy teetering on the edge of recession.
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Delays already were costing the economy an estimated $9 billion a year, said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
"The U.S. economy can't afford to have one of its major airlines just shut down for days," he said Thursday. "The ripple effect is tremendous. It's like putting a vise on commerce."
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Manufacturers rely on airlines to deliver tons of cargo a day, and any lengthy period of mass cancellations could prove costly. The groundings also are taking a financial toll on business travelers, some of whom have lost a day or more of work, and on people in the airline industry such as flight crews idled by the groundings.
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"The U.S. airline industry is not simply an important sector of our national economy. Its services fuel our entire economy," Barimo said. "Air transportation is an indispensable element of America's infrastructure and our nation's economic well-being."
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