美國聯邦航空總署署長將討論空管改革，航空公司被促更妥善處理延誤

艾莉森・蘭伯特、多因索拉・奧拉迪波報導By Allison Lampert and Doyinsola Oladipo

9月15日（路透社）——在美國國會議員準備於週二討論航空業改革之際，一個飛行員工會與一名航空顧問表示，受空中交通管制人員短缺影響的航空公司，應採取更多作為，避免航班延誤擴大成更大範圍的營運中斷。Sept 15 (Reuters) - Airlines affected by air traffic control staff shortages should do more to prevent delays from snowballing into broader disruptions, a pilots' union and an aviation consultant said, as lawmakers prepared to discuss U.S. sector reforms on Tuesday.

美國聯邦航空總署（Federal Aviation Administration, FAA）署長布萊恩・貝德福德（Bryan Bedford）預定在美國眾議院一個撥款小組委員會作證，說明一項規模125億美元的空中交通管制改革計畫；此前一天，美國政府監督機構才警告相關支出存在缺口。Federal Aviation Administration boss Bryan Bedford is set to testify before a U.S. House appropriations subcommittee about a planned $12.5 billion air traffic control overhaul, a day after a government watchdog warned about spending shortfalls.

由於人員短缺與技術問題，空中交通管制相關的營運中斷已在美國、澳洲與英國造成航班延誤和取消，為全球航空公司帶來挑戰。Air traffic control-related disruptions have caused flight delays and cancellations in the U.S., Australia and Britain due to staffing shortages and technology issues, posing challenges for airlines around the world.

總部位於紐約的捷藍航空（JetBlue Airways）上週表示，美國東北部今年夏天受到暴風雨與管制員短缺影響後，該公司在當地與空中交通相關的航班取消數，較前三個夏季的平均值幾乎倍增。New York-based airline JetBlue Airways said last week its air traffic-related flight cancellations nearly doubled in the Northeastern U.S. this summer compared to the average of the prior three summers after the region was hit by storms and controller shortages.

根據顧問公司Cirium（睿思譽）的數據，捷藍航空7月表現落後於其他美國主要航空公司，取消率達8.3%；相較之下，包括邊疆航空（Frontier）、達美航空（Delta Air Lines）與聯合航空（United Airlines）在內的競爭對手取消率不到3%。According to data from consultancy Cirium, JetBlue's July performance lagged other major U.S. airlines, with an 8.3% cancellation rate compared with less than 3% at rivals including Frontier, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

路透社查閱的往來文件顯示，目前正與捷藍航空進行合約談判的捷藍飛行員工會，敦促公司採取額外措施，防止航班延誤與取消持續惡化。In correspondence reviewed by Reuters, JetBlue's pilots' union, which is currently in contract negotiations with the airline, urged the carrier to take additional steps to prevent flight delays and cancellations from spiraling.

航空公司飛行員協會（Air Line Pilots Association）捷藍分會主席韋恩・史凱爾斯（Wayne Scales）在9月7日的訊息中表示：「這個夏天讓人疲憊不堪，工作日漫長、營運中斷一再發生，還有太多看似可以避免的混亂。」"This summer took a toll with long days, repeated disruptions, and too much seemingly preventable chaos," said a September 7 message from Wayne Scales, president of the JetBlue arm of the Air Line Pilots Association.

史凱爾斯寫道，飛行員已敦促捷藍航空擬定計畫，以避免7月出現的營運挑戰；當時機組人員被迫等待重新派遣與飯店住宿安排。Pilots have urged JetBlue to design a plan to prevent operational challenges that left crew waiting for reassignments and hotel accommodations in July, Scales wrote.

他表示：「暴風雨與空中交通限制一定會發生；沒有一家航空公司能完全消除營運中斷。」「管理層能掌控的是，捷藍航空多有準備去因應，以及復原的成效有多好。」"Storms and air traffic constraints will happen; no airline can fully eliminate operational disruptions," he said. "What management can control is how prepared JetBlue is to respond — and how effectively it recovers."

空中交通管制限制AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CONSTRAINTS

捷藍航空在聲明中表示，該公司已依據過去幾年的天候與空中交通管制表現，為夏季營運投入大量準備，但暴風雨與管制員缺勤，即使是最佳規劃也可能被打亂。JetBlue said in a statement it put extensive preparation into its summer operation based on prior years' weather and air traffic control performance, but storms and missing controllers could upset even the best planning.

該航空公司表示：「天氣與空中交通管制限制難以預測，使提前規劃變得困難許多，也可能導致營運中斷迅速連鎖擴大。」「鑑於捷藍航空在東北部的業務規模特別大，這個問題對我們而言更加嚴重。」"The unpredictability of weather and air traffic control constraints makes it significantly harder to plan ahead and can cause disruptions to compound quickly," the carrier said. "This is exacerbated for JetBlue given our outsized footprint in the Northeast."

美國航空業顧問鮑勃・曼恩（Bob Mann）表示，在全美最壅塞的東北部空域營運的航空公司面臨延誤風險。他說，已有軟體可以減少航班延誤與取消的骨牌效應，但航空公司尚未廣泛使用。U.S. airline industry consultant Bob Mann said airlines operating in Northeast airspace — the most congested in the nation — risked delays. He said software was available that could reduce the domino effect of delayed and canceled flights, but it was not widely used by airlines.

貝德福德上週四會見美國主要航空公司執行長，討論FAA計畫如何運用先進軟體來改革航班排程並改善航班管理。Bedford met last Thursday with the CEOs of major U.S. airlines to discuss the FAA's plans to use advanced software to overhaul flight scheduling ‌and improve flight management.

運用預測分析的SMART系統，可能更有效地重新安排因惡劣天候而取消的航班。The SMART system, which uses predictive analytics, could more effectively reschedule flights that were canceled due to bad weather.

捷藍航空表示，該公司對這套系統感到鼓舞，因為它「有潛力讓FAA與航空公司都取得更好的資訊與工具，更早預判限制，更妥善作出營運決策，並在營運中斷發生時更有效復原」。JetBlue said it was encouraged by the system, "which has the potential to give both the FAA and airlines better information and tools to anticipate constraints earlier, make better operational decisions and recover more effectively when disruptions occur."

（艾莉森・蘭伯特蒙特婁、多因索拉・奧拉迪波紐約報導；Jamie Freed編輯）(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)