Rep. Ashley Hinson. (RI photo)
Iowa Congresswoman, Ashley Hinson, says she has been in contact with American Airlines and officials in Dubuque after American announced it would pull out service to the city in September.
“We obviously have gone to bat to make sure our small rural airports continue to have service from a major airline that’s absolutely critical to economic development in these communities,” Hinson says.
Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says she’s already been talking with the airlines prior to this announcement.
“Making sure that they can get workers into their pipeline is absolutely critical. And we know that, for instance, Delta, you know, they laid off, I think it was like 15-thousand employees during the pandemic, and they still have about five-thousand more that they need to hire back,” Hinson says. “So this is all colliding, obviously, at a really unfortunate time with summer travel demand being higher.”
Hinson says at last count American Airlines had 100 planes on the ground that they couldn’t fly because of the pilot shortage. “This is a prime example of where I would look for some leadership from the White House on this. President Biden’s failed policies continue to have this impact on our economy. And, again, this is about the impact on a community like to be and many others like Dubuque across the country that are going to be feeling this pinch,” she says.
American Airlines is pulling service out of Dubuque on September 7th.