Air travel system ‘very brittle,’ says Transportation Secretary Buttigieg

(CNN) — Air traffic disruptions have plagued summer travelers, and this past weekend was no exception.

Friday was the worst day for cancellations since mid-June, with 1,613 US flights canceled, according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware. And cancellations kept stacking up over the weekend.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is not happy with the continued air travel chaos and is calling on travelers to share their experiences.

While Buttigieg acknowledged that severe weather this weekend disrupted air travel, “it shouldn’t have created the kind of ripple effects through the system that it did.

“That is something that to me is an indication that we still have not seen the improvements that we need, that the system is very brittle,” Buttigieg said Wednesday on CNN’s New Day.

He said the “human factor” is the biggest contributor to snarled air traffic.

“Not having enough crew, especially pilots, to do the job. And airlines, of course, have an obligation to service the tickets that they sell,” Buttigieg said.

‘A good start’

The posting of the proposed rule on Regulations.gov had more than 400 comments on Wednesday morning.

One commenter, Natalia Villegas, agreed that more consumer protections are needed.

“The current ruling of when consumers are entitled to compensation is very vague and makes it almost impossible for the consumer to see any sort of compensation,” Villegas wrote, noting a year-long struggle to receive a flight refund.

Another commenter said it was “a good start” but that it “doesn’t go far enough.” That commenter, Carol Poindexter, would like to see monetary compensation for delayed flights.

Buttigieg told CNN that his own biggest frustration is with cancellations, noting that his own flight was canceled on Friday.

Buttigieg acknowledged the public’s…