There's a serious fear of flying these days, and that has triggered a serious plunge in ticket sales.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian delivered the grim news Tuesday morning at a JPMorgan Chase investors conference. Bastian didn't mince words: people are afraid to take to the skies following recent commercial plane crashes.
"It caused a lot of shock among consumers," Bastian told investors, via CNN.
He added, "We saw a pretty immediate stall in both corporate travel and bookings. Consumer confidence and certainty in air travel started to wane a little bit as questions of safety came in."
Bastian did not disclose how much ticket sales have slowed, but the deadly plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January, and the terrifying upside down crash in Toronto last month has triggered a rippling effect. In fact, American Airlines recently forecast a bigger first-quarter loss due to the Potomac plane crash and economic uncertainties, per Reuters.
All 64 people, including four crew members, aboard the regional American Airlines jet died after it collided with a Black Hawk Sikorsky H-60, which was on a training flight mission. Three soldiers aboard the helicopter were killed after the Black Hawk collided with the jet, which was approaching the airport for landing.
Related: There Was Nearly Another Aviation Accident 24 Hours Before Fatal Potomac Crash
Last month, Delta Flight 4819, en route from Minneapolis to Toronto, flipped over after attempting to land on a snowy tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The plane then burst into flames. Miraculously, all 76 passengers and four crew members survived the incident.
There have been several scary incidents, including in Seattle where a Delta plane was struck by another aircraft. There was also a deadly medical jet crash in North Philadelphia in late January. All six people aboard the craft, which was headed for Mexico, were killed.
The fear of flying anxiety comes amid staff shortages at the Federal Aviation Administration. According to The Associated Press, the Trump administration last month fired "fewer than 400 FAAA employees, which included personnel hired for FAA radar, landing navigational aid maintenance and one air traffic controller.
The administration insists the agency has "retained employees who perform critical safety functions."
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