The U.S. Travel Association is calling out the government ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday travel period.

According to the organization, there’s an urgent need for Congress to address Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staffing and funding shortages through the agency’s reauthorization bill.

“U.S. airlines have hired more than 55,000 new workers since 2022 to help stave off delays, yet we need an act of Congress and FAA policy changes just to hire 1,800 air traffic controllers per year and ensure they are staffed in the right places,” U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes said in a statement.

“This is unacceptable, and Congress and the FAA must move faster.”

“The freedom to travel is critical to our country’s economy, but these staffing shortages and inefficiencies put unnecessary strain on the air travel system,” added Barnes.

“The tremendous demand we anticipate this weekend—which drives travel spending in every region of the country—should spur Congress to work quickly to finalize an FAA reauthorization bill that will make our air travel system more modern, efficient and secure for decades to come.”

This week, AAA Travel projected that a record 50.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Fourth of July holiday travel period. It’s anticipated that domestic travel will increase by 2.1 million people compared to 2022 and surpass the 2019 total of 49 million U.S. travelers.

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