These past few weeks Newark Airport in New Jersey has had technical problems with its air-traffic control system — including losing radar — leading to delays, cancellations and fears about safety. The problems aren’t the fault of United Airlines, but its CEO has wisely seen fit to make a major push to reassure customers.

United is by far the biggest airline at Newark Airport, so it’s been the one most affected by the headaches. The problems are so stressful that air-traffic controllers have been going out on leave, leading to staff shortages. Some of these workers have anonymously told the press it’s not safe to fly in or out of Newark. A New York Times headline on Monday: “Newark Airport Had 3 Controllers on Duty When the Goal Is 14.”

United CEO Scott Kirby on Monday sent an email to nearly 4 million customers, those with “upcoming travel at Newark as well as customers based in New York and New Jersey,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

‘Absolutely Safe’

In the email (the text of which we get from Inc. magazine), Kirby mostly stays laser-focused on the safety issue. “The truth is that all the flights in and out of [Newark] are absolutely safe,” he wrote. “When there are [Federal Aviation Administration] issues, such as technology outages or staffing shortages, the FAA requires all airlines to fly fewer aircraft to maintain the highest levels of safety.”

The email included a video message from Captain Miles Morgan, the United pilot who is the managing director of the airline’s Flight Training Center. Morgan emphasized the extensive training of United pilots and the system’s redundant technology.

CEO Kirby also made TV appearances. On Sunday he went on CBS’s Face the Nation. “When these kind of outages happen we train for them, we have backup procedures, we have backups to backups to backups to keep the sky safe, which is always the number one priority,” he said.

‘Backup Procedures’

His Tuesday appearance on NBC’s Today show was somewhat contentious as he was repeatedly asked about the anonymous air-traffic controllers’ warnings. Kirby stuck to his talking points. Flying “is safe across the country and the backup procedures keep it safe,” he insisted.

Another of Kirby’s themes was his optimism about revamping the FAA. In its messaging, United went out of its way to praise the agency. “Our hard-working air-traffic controllers clearly need more staff and better technology, and the good news is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a plan to make that happen,” Kirby wrote in his email to customers.

Ultimately, Kirby did a decent job, though there will always be skeptics. For example, his point that safety issues are addressed by cutting down on flights doesn’t address the terrible inconvenience to customers. “We slow the whole system down, which is disruptive to customers but is entirely safe,” he said on CBS.

Photo Credit: gg5795/Shutterstock

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