When Will This Administration Quit Attacking Aviation?

The world has a new "Biden-ism" to deal with and this one bodes ill for airline travel. The Vice President, well-known for saying things now and then, that he has come to regret later, dropped a bit of a bomb on the safety of current air travel.

Thursday morning, in making the rounds of the morning programs, Biden set off another firestorm of recrimination and eventual apologies by telling the Today Show, "I would tell members of my family — and I have — I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now." Biden continued the attack on air travel by adding that, "It’s not that it’s going to Mexico. It’s [that] you’re in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft. That’s me... So, from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you’re out in the middle of a field when someone sneezes, that’s one thing. If you’re in a closed aircraft or closed container or closed car or closed classroom, it’s a different thing."

The latest gaffe came when responding to Today Show Host Matt Lauer, who inquired of Biden, "This is by no means a 'gotcha' type of question… But if a member of your family came to you… and said, 'Look, I want to go on a commercial airliner to Mexico, and back within the next week,' would you think it’s a good idea?"

Air travel industry condemnations followed in short order, especially when he facts of the matter came under review. The obligatory apologies started within the better part of an hour and were typical of a White House statement that came via a government spokesperson rather than the outspoken VP himself, “On the Today Show this morning, the vice president was asked what he would tell a family member who was considering air travel to Mexico this week. The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the vice president has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week. As the president said just last night, every American should take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: Keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you're sick and keep your children home from school if they're sick.”

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov