GREENSBORO, N.C. — As airlines across the country see delayed flights and cancellations, Piedmont Triad International Airport leaders said it's feeling the consequences more than bigger airports.
Industry experts said it all goes back to a shortage of pilots.
PTI customers are rebounding. It's not quite at pre-pandemic levels but the airport is serving about 70 percent of the passengers it was in 2019.
Airport Director Kevin Baker said the flip side is that those passengers have fewer options.
"Where are you might've had service to a certain market, you don't have it at all right now," Baker said.
Service from Greensboro to Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. still has not returned.
"Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, because they weren’t flying at all, some of the airlines had early retirement programs for their crews at that time," Baker said. "Their crew shrunk and the demand for service returned a lot faster than I think airlines thought it would."
Delays and cancellations are a nationwide symptom of this jetlag. Baker said it affects smaller, regional airports like his the most.
In part, he said, it's because regional carriers that fly under the names of major airliners are seeing a more pronounced pilot shortage.
"Once those pilots get done with their initial training, that’s the first place they might be hired. Those regional airlines are the first ones who are impacted whenever you have fewer pilots being trained," Baker said.
There's some debate about how to fix the problem.
The Regional Airline Association wants to extend the age limits for pilots from 65 to 68.
A major pilot union, the Air Line Pilots Association argues against raising the pilot age limit for safety reasons. Instead, it wants airlines to offer better pay and benefits.