North Texas Airline Execs Go Before Congress

(Washington, DC) — The heads of both North Texas airlines are assuring Congress that Christmas travel will run smoothly.

Airline executives from Fort Worth-based American and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines testified Wednesday at a Senate committee hearing about oversight of the U.S. airline industry. The executives had to answer for recent widespread flight cancellations, in June at Southwest, and at both airlines in October. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told Congress steps had been taken to keep the problem from coming up again.

The airline execs also told the committee it’s time to start looking at lifting the COVID mask requirement onboard commercial jets. Doug Parker, who heads American Airlines, says that 99-percent of airborne pathogens are caught by the HEPA air filters used on every major carrier.