Delta CEO Ed Bastian appeared on an episode of CBS Mornings hosted by Gayle King to discuss a few issues concerning the aviation industry. Obviously, there was a Delta crash at an airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that resulted in a dramatic photo of the airplane upside down. Thankfully, everyone aboard survived with a few people suffering minor injuries. Bastian started off the 6-minute segment by acknowledging all of the passengers, crew, and first responders. He also made it a point to say that, despite recent mishaps that have gained a lot of publicity, flying in an airplane is still the safest mode of travel by far.
Gayle King mentioned the consistent media narrative about President Trump (and Elon Musk) cutting FAA jobs. Her question was phrased in a way that would make an uninformed person think that the FAA cuts impact Air Traffic Control, since ATC is part of the FAA. Ed Bastian said that the cuts do not impact Delta at all and out of 50,000 FAA jobs, only 300 have been affected. And the jobs that were cut were not in critical safety functions such as Air Traffic Control. In fact, Bastian continued, President Trump has committed to investing more into ATC in terms of staffing and modernization.
SOURCES:
Delta CEO discusses Toronto plane crash and investigation – YouTube
Delta Air Lines CEO discusses Toronto plane crash, praises crew: “This is what we train for” – CBS News
Delta CEO says Toronto crash landing crew was experienced, praises response By Investing.com
Delta CEO Says Toronto Plane Crew Responded ‘Heroically’
