The CEO of United Airlines is assuring customers that safety is their top priority after a number of recent incidents made headlines.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Monday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he is “most proud of the culture we’ve built around the safety of our employees and our customers.”
“Safety is our highest priority and is at the heart of everything we do,” he added, before addressing a number of recent concerns.
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“Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, our airline has experienced numerous incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety. While they are not all connected, I want you to know that these incidents have drawn our attention and sharpened our focus,” Kirby’s statement read.
In March 2024 alone, five incidents occurred in one week — some resulting in the emergency evacuation of passengers and crew.
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines.
Moe Zoyari/Bloomberg via Getty
Kirby said that in light of recent events, United Airlines is already working to implement new precautions that will take effect in the coming months.
“Our team reviews the details of each case to understand what happened and uses these insights to inform our safety training and procedures for all groups of employees. This is in addition to some changes already planned, including an extra day of in-person training for all pilots starting in May and a centralized training plan and program for our new maintenance technicians. We are also devoting more resources to managing the supplier network.”
He added that at United Airlines, employees are encouraged “to speak up and raise their hand if they see something wrong.”
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The CEO also said customers can rest assured that once their fleet of aircraft departs the gate, all employees and crew members are already working together to help passengers reach their destination safely.
“We’ve done a lot at United over the past few years to build a new culture, improve our business and earn your trust,” Kirby’s statement continued. “I am confident that we will learn the right lessons from these recent incidents and continue to run an operation that puts safety first and makes our employees and customers proud.”
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United Airlines — picture.
Getty
On Friday, United Flight 433 from San Francisco International Airport landed in Medford, Oregon, with part of its outer skin missing.
The Boeing 737-800 arrived without incident, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate the incident.
The aircraft did not declare an alert [Rogue Valley International Medford Airport]as there were no indications of in-flight damage,” the airline said in a statement to PEOPLE.
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Friday’s news follows the aforementioned five United Airlines incidents in one week.
In one instance, United Airlines International Flight 830 was bound for San Francisco from Sydney when a “maintenance issue” caused the aircraft to divert back to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.
There was also a tire that fell off en route to Osaka, Japan on March 7, and one of the engines on United Airlines Flight 1118 caught fire on March 4.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education