(NEW YORK) — The New York City mother of two whose body was found inside a duffel bag had asked her alleged killer to leave her house “multiple times” before she was stabbed to death, according to prosecutors.
The suspect, handyman David Bonola, was arrested early Thursday, days after he allegedly stabbed Orsolya Gaal over 50 times, slashed her throat and dumped her body in her son’s hockey bag, the NYPD said.
Bonola, 44, and Gaal 51, had been having an off-and-on affair for two years, according to police.
Bonola allegedly killed Gaal in her Queens home early Saturday while her 13-year-old son was upstairs, officials said.
“Because she knew him, she let him into the house. He then engaged her in a verbal dispute and unfortunately she had to ask him to leave multiple times,” assistant district attorney Josh Garland said.
Prosecutors said Bonola allegedly dragged Gaal’s body through “a quiet residential neighborhood,” leaving a trail of blood leading back to her home.
“Two boys are left without a mother and a young teenager faces the added trauma of being home when this heinous murder took place,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Police said Bonola offered to speak to authorities on Wednesday and made incriminating statements during questioning. Bonola was arrested just before 1 a.m. Thursday.
Bonola appeared in court Thursday and was ordered held without bail on second-degree murder charges. He was placed on suicide watch at the request of his defense attorney and is due back in court next week.
(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — Nearly three weeks after the killing of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya, his family, friends and activists are coming together to celebrate his life and call for justice in his death.
His funeral will take place Friday at 11 a.m. local time at the Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, Commissioner Robert Womack and bishop Dennis McMurray are expected to speak at the service, which is open to all masked attendees.
Lyoya, a native of Congo, was shot by an officer following a struggle outside a house in Grand Rapids on April 4 after he was pulled over for a faulty license plate, according to police.
Video of Lyoya’s death was recorded on an officer’s body camera, dashcam video, security cameras and a bystander’s cellphone and released by the police amidst community pressure last week.
The footage shows a white police officer, whose name has not yet been released, struggling with Lyoya after chasing him on foot following a traffic stop. The officer eventually forces Lyoya to the ground and is heard shouting “stop resisting,” “let go” and “drop the Taser,” before shooting him in the head.
The Grand Rapids Police Department has not yet named the officer involved in Lyoya’s death and says the investigation is “ongoing.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said the investigation will be “thorough.”
Protesters have peacefully demonstrated in Grand Rapids since the release of the video footage, calling for justice for Lyoya.
(NEW YORK) — As Russia’s military gears up for what it hopes will be a decisive victory over Ukraine in the eastern part of the country, the U.S. is rushing to send weapons and equipment needed to hold off the larger invading force in the rural and open Donbas terrain — a far different battlefield from the urban fighting where Ukrainian forces held an advantage.
What could make all the difference now is the new $800 million military aid package for Ukraine President Joe Biden announced Thursday.
It’s a race against time — maybe a matter of weeks, a U.S. defense official said.
“Now they’ve launched and refocused their campaign to seize new territory in eastern Ukraine, and we’re in a critical window now of time where they’re going to set the stage for the next phase of this war,” Biden said of the Russian offensive, which U.S. military officials believe is just getting started.
“We know that time is not our friend,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.
Russia gains by being closer to its border
With Ukrainian forces focused in the east, Russia intends to push down from the north, near the city of Izium, and up from the south, surrounding the Ukrainian defenders to “finish them or force them to surrender,” a senior U.S. official said Thursday.
If Russia takes the beleaguered city of Mariupol in the south, it could free up thousands of troops to join the push north to trap Ukraine forces, according to the official.
Although Russia and Ukraine have been battling over Donbas for eight years, Russia’s concentrated flow of troops and weapons into the region could bring “a whole different level of fighting,” Kirby said Tuesday.
There are now 85 battalion tactical groups (BTGs), Russia’s main fighting units, inside Ukraine, according to the official. Each BTG is made up of roughly 800-1,000 troops. About 10 of them crossed into the country this week, most heading to the Donbas region.
Kirby said the U.S. is focused on sending Ukraine weapons and systems that are not only useful for the rural eastern terrain, but that the Ukrainians can use in the fight without much training.
Russia, meanwhile, is trying not to repeat blunders it committed in northern Ukraine, and will enjoy certain geographic advantages in Donbas.
Early on, Russian invaders in the north were beset by supply problems, running out of food for troops and fuel for vehicles, failing to achieve any major victories. Pentagon officials believe they did not expect such strong resistance from Ukrainians so they didn’t adequately prepare for a prolonged fight.
But since withdrawing its troops in the north to focus on Donbas, Russia has been putting equipment and support forces in place ahead of its combat troops to favorably condition the battlefield.
“We believe that they are trying to learn from past mistakes, and you can see that in just the way they are conducting these shaping operations,” Kirby told reporters Monday. “They’re conducting themselves in ways that we didn’t see around Kyiv, for instance.”
Another advantage for Russia is that its logistics will be simplified by fighting closer to its own border, while Ukraine will now face the challenge of transporting heavy weapons and ammunition coming over its western border all the way across the country, meaning more miles for something to go wrong, and more chances for Russia to strike these vital shipments.
How US-provided artillery and radars could make a difference
To stand a chance fighting in the open Donbas landscape, Ukraine will need more long-range weapons and the ability to quickly move troops on the ground and in the air, according to Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and ABC News contributor.
The U.S. has sent Ukraine $3.4 billion of aid since the beginning of the invasion, including many thousands of shoulder-fired missiles, small arms and ammunition, body armor, and medical supplies. The two most recent packages, dedicating $800 million of aid each, announced April 13 and 21, were tailored to reflect the new battle space.
“It’s different,” Biden said Thursday. “It’s flat, it’s not in the mountains, and it requires different kinds of weapons to be more effective.”
To that end, the U.S. is sending 90 of its 155mm howitzers, which officials say will begin arriving over the weekend.
“This is going to be the king of battle out there,” Mulroy said.
While Ukraine already has Russian-made artillery pieces, the U.S. and most Western nations do not have the corresponding 152mm ammunition to offer as it runs through its limited stockpiles. The incoming U.S.-made 155mm guns will bring Ukrainian forces extra firepower, but also the ability to be better resupplied by the West.
To start, the U.S. is sending 184,000 artillery rounds along with the 90 weapons.
Russia has been flowing its own artillery into Donbas in preparation for its renewed offensive. To help Ukraine counter the threat, the U.S. is sending 14 radar systems that can detect incoming artillery and other indirect-fire attacks and find where they’re coming from.
“Right now the Russians are kind of just lobbing artillery without any consequence,” Mulroy said. “They want to give them a whole lot of consequence.”
The radar systems can help the Ukrainians accurately fire back.
“The counter radar is moving to theater this week,” a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday, adding that the howitzers and radar systems complement each other, but can also be used independently.
Training will be critical
About 50 Ukrainians are being trained on the U.S. howitzers outside of the country. This first group of trainees is expected to finish around the same time as the first artillery pieces arrive in their country, likely Sunday or Monday, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. is using a “train-the-trainer” approach so as not to pull too many high-demand troops away from the front — the small group of Ukrainians learning to use the new systems will return to their country to train fellow Ukrainian troops there.
The U.S. took a similar approach with the small, explosive Switchblade drones, hundreds of which are headed to Ukraine.
A small number of Ukrainians were in the U.S. for pre-scheduled military education when Russia invaded their country. The U.S. capitalized on their presence to add a couple days of training on the Switchblades, which are designed to fly directly into targets and explode.
“Although it’s not a very difficult system to operate, we took advantage of having them in the country to give them some rudimentary training on that,” a U.S. defense official said on April 6.
U.S. officials have said other systems being sent to Ukraine will also require a small period of training, likely to also take place outside of the country. Officials have declined to specify where such training could take place, citing operational security concerns.
With Russia intent on surrounding and trapping Ukrainian forces, the ability to move troops quickly by ground and air will be essential, according to Mulroy.
“They’re going to try to envelope the Ukrainians and cut them off and starve them,” he said. “So, the Ukrainians need to have the ability not to let that happen.”
Since the beginning of the invasion, the U.S. has given Ukraine 16 Mi-17 transport helicopters, each able to carry a three-person crew and up to 30 passengers.
Mulroy said an advantage of the Soviet-designed Mi-17 is that Ukrainian pilots already know how to fly them.
The U.S. has also offered Ukraine hundreds of armored personnel carriers that have tracks similar to those of tanks, as well as armored Humvees.
Weather will likely play a factor, and muddy conditions during Spring could limit vehicle mobility for both sides.
“Even just this week, the ground as it is makes it harder for them to operate off of paved roads and highways,” Kirby said.
Time is of the essence
Mulroy said the U.S. is doing a great job shipping military aid to the region, but believes more can be done to speed things up.
“We just have to take every opportunity to increase production and improve the flow, because it is going to make a difference,” he said.
The U.S. has not sent Ukraine any of its M1 Abrams tanks, officials saying they are too different from Ukraine’s T-72s to be useable in the short term. But other nations with the Soviet-era tanks have given theirs.
In total, Ukrainian forces have more tanks in their country than Russia’s military, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday.
A less tangible but very real factor in the fighting so far has been troop morale.
The Pentagon sees evidence Russian forces are still suffering from low motivation and poor unit cohesion, according to officials.
“Almost half of their enlisted troops are conscripts who don’t receive a lot of training and who we have evidence, even recent evidence, that they’ve been disillusioned by this war,” the senior U.S. defense official said.
Meanwhile Russian officers are frustrated with the performance of other officers and of their own troops, according to the official.
Ukrainian troops have not seemed to suffer any significant morale problems, and throughout the war have been described by U.S. officials as brave and wily in defense of their homeland.
Biden praised the resolve of Ukrainians in a meeting with top military leaders at the White House Wednesday.
“I knew they were tough and proud, but I tell you what, they’re tougher and more proud than I thought,” Biden said.
(NEW YORK) — The ability for polar bears to survive in coming decades is becoming more uncertain as global warming continues to melt the Arctic at unprecedented rates, experts warn.
Now, biologists and conservationists determined to save the species have zeroed in on a plan to increase populations: focus on the survival of mothers and cubs, who find themselves increasingly vulnerable to dwindling habitat and food sources, they tell ABC News.
The “fundamental” key to the survival of polar bears is the availability of sea ice cover, Louise Archer, a researcher at the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Department of Biological Sciences, told ABC News.
The Arctic is currently warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, according to the Arctic Report Card published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in December, leaving the Arctic in a “dramatically different state,” with a substantial decline since 1979.
It takes an incredible amount of energy for mothers to raise their cubs, but ironically they are not the most efficient hunters, Archer said. They rely on the sea ice as a platform from which to access marine mammals from.
“So having access to sea ice is extremely important to ensure the survival of adults, but also, so that females can support the survival of their cubs,” Archer said.
One of the “biggest challenges” from global warming is bears will have to respond to sea ice conditions, or the lack thereof, that have never been experienced in the Arctic before, she said.
Polar bear mothers, especially, need nutrients because they lactate for up to two-and-a-half years, the entire time “the cubs are taking in energy from their moms,” Archer said.
When the cubs are born in the den, they only weigh about a pound or two, she said. But their mother has to raise them to about 10 to 20 pounds before she can go out onto the sea ice and hunt again.
All the months in hibernation are not spent sleeping. The mother is nursing, grooming the cubs and maintaining the den, which involves scratching the ceiling and walls with her claws to allow airflow. Otherwise, the den would get completely iced over, and no oxygen would be able to get in, Geoff York, senior director of conservation group Polar Bears International, told ABC News.
The mothers and cubs begin to emerge from their dens after four to eight months of not eating or drinking. The priority is to build up fat stores before the sea ice begins to melt in the summer. But if the sea ice is melting sooner, that’s less time for the mothers to hunt — and to teach her children to do so — and less time to regain the fat stores they lost while fasting and lactating in the den.
“Anything that sort of interrupts that sequence is potentially fatal to the reproductive attempt of the female,” Andrew Derocher, a professor of biological science at the University of Alberta, told ABC News. “It’s a chain of events that is incredibly sensitive to things like sea ice break up in the springtime — and that’s one of the key metrics that we monitor, is when is the ice breaking out.”
Derocher believes the mother-cub relationship is so integral because it is an “incredible part of their life history.” After they leave the den, the mothers have an incredible task of teaching the cubs to swim, hunt and one day survive on their own.
It is that relationship that provides a “powerful emotion and a very forceful narrative” for Disney’s new film Polar Bear, which follows a mother with her cubs as they embark on that journey, Alastair Fothergill, one of the directors of the film, told ABC News.
In the first years of a polar bear’s life, they are “extraordinarily dependent on their mother,” said Fothergill, who has been filming in the Arctic for more than 25 years.
The biggest change Fothergill has witnessed as a result of the ice melting is the new tricks mothers are teaching their cubs, such as climbing cliffs to get bird eggs and chicks, as well as learning to hunt walrus calves — a dangerous feat, as the mother walruses defend their young with their tusks. Previously, seals served as their primary source of food.
Experts have found that the health of a polar bear population can be determined by “three good winters,” York said. Last year, he witnessed a mother with triplet cubs in the Western Hudson Bay of Canada — an increasingly rare sight in a population that has declined 30% in the last 40 years.
“That’s kind of what polar bears need,” he said. “They need three good years to bring cubs from birth to sub adulthood and get them out of the sub population.”
One of the most profound phases of the mother-cub relationship is the moment the mother must leave her cubs, a “really risky and dangerous time for the polar bear,” he said.
“We say in the narrative that she knew she had taught her cubs everything she could, which is true,” he said. “But at the same time, she has to move on. She has to go and have another set of cubs.”
Researchers have found that in more solitary populations of polar bears that have had less access to sea ice, the bears are forced to fast for longer periods of time, Archer said. This has led to a decline of body condition, the decline in the survival of colds and the decline in the overall population abundance, she added.
The bears who live in the most southern regions are more at risk, and there could very well be a time when the subpopulations in the Arctic are the only ones to persist, Archer said. Places like Wrangel Island off of Russia offer a place for polar bears to retreat during times of significant ice loss, where they have access to walrus, York said.
Given the current climate change conditions, the ability for polar bears to feed and survive will become increasingly precarious — unless they can adapt and learn how to survive on terrestrial land, Archer hypothesized.
“Once the ice is inaccessible to bears, survival of bears is severely compromised,” she said.
When Derocher published a paper in 1993 about the potential effects of warming on polar bears, he did not think he would see those effects within his lifetime, he said.
“We thought this is something for future generations far away,” he said. “And what has surprised me is that the changes have been manifest in the populations so much sooner than we anticipated.”
It will be human activity and the ability for it to properly mitigate climate change that will ultimately determine the chances for polar bears to survive, York said. They are currently listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
“That’s directly tied to actions we may or may not take to curb our greenhouse gas reductions,” he said.
You can stream Disney’s Polar Bear”starting on April 22 on Disney+. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — The megadrought that has plagued the West for several decades is not only expected to persist, but drought conditions will also likely intensify and expand east, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
About 55% of the continental U.S. is experiencing drought conditions, which will likely worsen in the Great Plains, particularly the central and southern Plains, such as Texas and Oklahoma, NOAA scientists said during a monthly climate call Thursday.
These areas will be experiencing extreme fire danger on Friday as conditions are worsened by the arid landscape and ground fuel that allows wildfires to explode. The region will likely see well below the average precipitation as the summer months approach, according to NOAA.
Many places in the West have been experiencing drought for three consecutive years without any significant recovery in sight.
California and Nevada are already breaking records for dryness this year, after they both had their driest period of January through March on record. This is the time of year that the region typically receives the most rain and snow, making the statistic all the more concerning, the scientists said. California’s snowpack is currently at 30% of its average.
So far in 2022, California has only received 15% of its normal precipitation. In 2021, California received 65% of its normal precipitation during this same period.
This year will likely be among the top 10 warmest on record, according to NOAA. Globally, March was sixth warmest on record, and record warm March temperatures were observed across 5% of the global area, according to NOAA.
In Antarctica, where summer just transitioned to fall, one station reached its highest temperature ever recorded, and temperatures at one point were up to 70 degrees above average, the scientists said.
Research indicates that climate change is contributing to the extent, severity and duration of the drought in the Western U.S. The drought is likely to cost the U.S. billions of dollars in 2022, the scientists said.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that the public health agency is looking into a cluster of hepatitis cases among children.
According to a press release, the federal agency is studying nine hepatitis cases in Alabama “of unknown origin in children ranging in age from 1 to 6 years old, all of whom were previously healthy.” The children have also tested positive for adenovirus infection, which most commonly causes respiratory illness, but depending on the type, can cause gastrointestinal infection in children.
How significant is this national health alert?
The rise in hepatitis cases in the U.S. mirrors an increase in cases among youths in the U.K.
“It falls under the category of the fact that the CDC is actively engaged in non-COVID surveillance and this is a perfect example of that,” ABC News’ chief medical correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton told Good Morning America.
“Hepatitis — that umbrella term for inflammation of the liver — can be caused by viruses but it can also be caused by toxins, medications. [It’s] very unusual to see it in this pediatric population,” Ashton added.
Should parents be concerned?
Parents should be aware that there are cases where children are getting sick and if they notice symptoms or suspect a case of hepatitis or liver inflammation, they should consult their child’s pediatrician immediately.
“At this point, this is rare. It’s just something CDC is keeping an eye on,” Ashton said.
What causes hepatitis?
Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause of hepatitis in the world, including hepatitis A, B, and C, but they’ve been ruled out in the Alabama cluster. Researchers at the CDC suspect that the adenovirus infections may have caused the pediatric hepatitis cases and are still working to find out more information.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis?
Hepatitis symptoms include jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting, dark-colored urine, or pale bowel movements.
What can parents do?
The CDC recommends that children receive vaccinations for hepatitis A and B. There is currently no vaccine available for hepatitis C.
(WASHINGTON) — The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday indefinitely barred 29 more Americans from entering Russia, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in what it said was retaliation for “ever-expanding anti-Russian sanctions” by the United States.
Addressing the latest Russian sanctions at Thursday’s press briefing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price — who was also targeted — said it was “nothing less than an accolade to have earned the ire of a government that lies to its own people, brutalizes its neighbors, and seeks to create a world where freedom and liberty are put on the run — and if they had their way, extinguished.”
“Similarly, it is a great honor to share that enmity with other truth-tellers,” Price added, naming his counterparts, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby and White House press secretary Jen Psaki, “as well as a number of journalists who have done incredible work, sharing the jarring, bloody truth of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.”
In a release, the Russian Foreign Ministry cited the 29 individuals sanctioned Thursday as people who “form the Russophobic agenda.”
Second gentlemen Doug Emhoff, White House chief of staff Ron Klain, ABC News Anchor George Stephanopoulos, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan were also included on the so-called “stop list.”
Last month, Russia also sanctioned President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and all 398 members of Congress from entering the country.
(WASHINGTON) — The United States Army has announced new policies to expand soldiers’ and their family’s health.
The 12-part directive expands previous policies such as allowing paid medical leave for pregnancies and pregnancy losses for soldiers and/or their spouses. It also creates new policies such as ones addressing soldiers and spouses going through fertilization treatment.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth signed the Army’s Parenthood, Pregnancy and Postpartum directive 2022-06 on Thursday.
“It’s recognizing that in 2022, we have all different kinds of families going through all different kinds of life issues, and we can really take care of our families so we can retain our soldiers,” Maj. Sam Winkler said during a roundtable at the Pentagon on Thursday.
These changes stemmed from a grassroots movement within the Army and a Facebook group called The Army Mom Life, which has 8.2 thousand members.
One of those members is Staff Sgt. Nicole Pierce. Pierce worked with a committee at the Army headquarters to review the branch’s policies on pregnancy, parenthood and postpartum.
Pierce pushed for the Army to acknowledge the need for soldiers to have medical leave for parents who may have a miscarriage or a stillbirth.
Pierce had her first pregnancy in 2016. Unfortunately, it ended in a miscarriage. Pierce was expected to return to work two days later.
“I actually ended up asking my doctor, ‘hey, can I get a little bit more time. I just lost my child. My whole life just changed before my eyes. Can I get a little bit more time?’ And my doctor actually came back and said there were no complications with your surgery, so no you can’t have more time,” Pierce said during a roundtable.
She ended up using her vacation days to take two weeks off “to be able to process and mourn the loss of my family and the future I thought I was going to have,” Pierce explained.
Now, soldiers are allowed paid medical leave when either themselves or their spouse have a baby, a miscarriage or a stillbirth. The Army is the first U.S. branch to allow male soldiers the time to grieve after a pregnancy loss. Soldiers in the Reserve Components are also now given paid parental leave.
In addition, the Army is allowing parents to be excused up to a year after a birth, adoption or long-term foster care placement from working more than a regular shift. This includes deployment, field training, temporary duty assignments, etc.
Pierce also pushed to remove a rule that did not allow expecting soldiers to attend or complete the necessary class to be promoted. Now, the new directive will help prevent soldiers who have children from falling behind in their careers due to pregnancy.
She had her first child in 2019, but it set her back in her classes to be promoted since she was not allowed to be in them. She was back in the field working four months postpartum, and that was when she found out she was pregnant again. She had her second child in 2020 but was not able to get a spot in the class required to get a promotion until March 2021.
“I’m very excited that I can sleep better at night knowing that other moms will not have to go through the same things that I had to go through,” Pierce said.
Some other new policies coming from the directive include pregnant soldiers are now eligible to apply and compete for Active-Duty Operational Support tours (domestic tours). Soldiers also cannot be immediately released from active duty (REFRAD) after becoming pregnant.
Previous policies are being expanded to include allowing lactation breaks for lactating soldiers every 2-3 hours for at least 30 minutes in specific spaces that are not just restrooms. This policy is in place for as long as a soldier is lactating, for up to two years.
Right now, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies drink exclusively breast milk for the first six months and then a mix of breast milk and other foods for at least the first year. The directive takes these new guidelines into consideration.
The directive also extends Postpartum Body Composition (height/weight requirements) Exemptions from 6 months to a year, extends Physical Fitness Testing Exemptions for during and a year after their pregnancy.
Soldiers are also now excused from wearing service uniforms during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. Before, soldiers had to have their uniforms altered or buy completely new uniforms. Now, soldiers can wear a combination of Army Combat Uniforms and maternity uniforms.
Another new policy now in place impacts soldiers who either themselves or their spouse is undergoing fertility treatment. Now, a soldier will be able to stay at their current base for one year, with the ability to extend for another year while they or their spouse pursues fertility treatment.
Army leaders will receive additional education and training for the following all of the new procedures, family planning and resources available.
The U.S. Army has more than 400,000 parents. That includes 29,000 single fathers, outnumbering the number of single mother soldiers by three-to-one.
To help these families, the Army will now require soldiers with children to be given at least three weeks’ notice ahead of time for duty requirements outside of normal duty hours when they have a Family Care Plan.
“We want to normalize parenthood,” Winkler said. “We really think that normalizing parenthood will not only retain our best soldiers but also really help us in recruiting the best talent out there that is available to the force.”
(NEW YORK) — As millions take to the skies each day and airlines forecast what could be the most profitable summer ever, Americans should prepare for higher prices, more cancellations, and smaller airports losing all scheduled flight service.
Never before have U.S. airlines been more desperate for pilots. The massive pilot shortage affects not only the airlines but also the millions who fly each year.
Prepare for higher fares
U.S. airlines hope to add 13,000 pilots just this year, but America produces only between 5000 and 7000 pilots annually, according to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. With fewer pilots, supply will be limited and ticket prices will continue to climb with demand.
“The pilot shortage for the industry is real and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plan because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five plus years,” Kirby said. “The other really large airlines will also probably be able to attract enough pilots, but for anyone else, I just don’t think it’s mathematically possible to meet the pilot demand for the capacity plans that are out there.”
The U.S. will lose about half of its pilots to retirement in the next 15 years, according to the Regional Airline Association. American Airlines expects more than 5,000 of its 15,000 pilots to retire in the next seven years.
Earlier this month, American Airlines announced it would begin busing passengers from smaller cities to its hub in Philadelphia. JetBlue will cut its spring and summer flight schedule by 10 percent. In an earnings call Thursday, United’s Kirby said its regional partners have grounded 150 planes because of the pilot shortage.
“The airlines are underwater and trying to breathe through a straw,” American 737 Captain and Union spokesperson Dennis Tajer told ABC News. “Airlines are poaching each other’s pilots. It’s stunning the level of aggression.”
Mark Stinson is in flight school in Florida and still at least a year away from being qualified to join an airline, but the 31-year-old already has two job offers with regional airlines. Stinson says despite not having earned his commercial pilots license, one airline has offered to allow him to accrue vacation time the moment he signs a contract.
“The airlines are so hungry that they are taking just about anyone into these programs, and after pilots build enough hours they are applying directly into the majors,” Stinson says referring to the nation’s largest airlines. “Two of our instructors got hired directly with Spirit Airlines and will be going to training here shortly. They only have about 2 years’ experience. It’s insane. They will be airbus pilots in no time.”
American says it’s hiring 50-70 pilots each week in 2022, more than at any time in its history. United plans to hire more than 2000 pilots this year. United, Delta, American and Southwest pay among the highest salaries in the industry with United’s most senior pilots earning roughly $450,000 annually.
“The pilot shortage is real and it is grave. Larger airlines are able to recruit, but midsize and smaller airlines are having problems. Regional airlines, the airlines that operate the 50 to 75 seat airplanes that we see many airlines operate to small towns, they are really struggling and airlines have had to scale back or drop service to a lot of smaller communities,” Henry Harteveldt, president of travel analytics firm Atmosphere Research told ABC news.
Airline recruiters under extreme pressure to find pilots
Envoy Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, tells applicants they can earn up to $182,000 a year if a candidate promises to stay for at least two years and is certified to fly its Embraer regional jets.
“They’re reaching out to me, sending me emails. They don’t care. They just want to see that, you know, you’re getting your flight hours. They’ll do an interview with you and ask you a few HR questions, but then they just offer you the job automatically. So that’s how much in need they are of pilots,” Stinson said.
Why a shortage?
For several reasons: The FAA mandates pilots retire at 65, fewer pilots leaving the military, high cost and lengthy training times, and thousands of early retirements at the start of the pandemic.
During the second half of the 20th century, the military pumped out far more pilots than it does today; and now many of those pilots are rapidly approaching retirement. Obtaining a commercial pilot’s license today can easily cost between $80,000 and $170,000.
To help offset the shortage, United Airlines recently opened its own flight school, Aviate Academy. United plans to train 5000 pilots by 2030 and will subsidize training costs in return for a commitment to flying for the company.
Pilot fatigue
As travel demand rapidly increased in the months following the release of vaccinations, many airlines scheduled more flights than they could staff. Since last summer, we’ve seen multiple airline meltdowns.
“The airline management teams are trying to fly more than they have pilot staffing for,” American Capt. Dennis Tajer said. “We are seeing more fatigue reports than we’ve ever seen.”
Pilots from all major airlines have complained that their duty days are unpredictable, often running hours longer than scheduled and sometimes not knowing what day they will arrive back home. At Southwest, pilots say it’s not uncommon to arrive in a destination only to find out there is no hotel available.
“We are human beings and this is pressuring the margin of safety,” Tajer said.
Last week, pilots at Southwest wrote a letter to management about the more than 300% increase in pilot fatigue calls. If a pilot tells the airline he or she is fatigued, the pilot is automatically removed from the flight with no questions. This often results in delays and cancellations.
“Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines’ number-one safety threat,” the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told airline management in a recent letter.
Delta Air Lines pilots echo that message and have begun picketing at airports.
‘We are being pushed to our limits’
“We’ve flown record amounts of overtime during the pandemic to help Delta operate its schedule and get our passengers safely to their destinations. In many cases, pilots are flying long after their day or trip was supposed to end. Delta cannot continue to operate the schedule at redline with no room for error,” Capt. Jason Ambrosi, chairman of the Delta Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement. “We are being pushed to our limits as Delta tries to add back flying and capture revenue.”Delta, Southwest, and American all responded, saying they constantly evaluate their schedules and that safety is their highest concern.
“We continuously evaluate our staffing models and plan ahead so that we can recover quickly when unforeseen circumstances arise, and the resilience of the Delta people is unmatched in that regard. Pilot schedules remain in line with all requirements set by the FAA as well as those outlined in our pilot contract,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
Southwest told ABC News it has revised its flight schedule to better match pilot supply.
“The increase is expected, as it’s common to experience an elevated level of fatigue calls during irregular operations and in March, the industry faced weather and airspace delays that resulted in disruptions across the network. The March increase in Pilot fatigue calls is a result of the system working as designed, allowing Crew to determine if they are too fatigued to fly,” Southwest wrote in a statement.
Solutions?
There are no quick fixes. Scott Kirby told investors that United plans to hire at least half the 5000 new pilots each year, adding it will be at least five or six years before there might be relief for the mid-size and regional airlines.
“Pilots salaries are higher than ever, and there’s never been a better time to be a commercial airline pilot,” Faye Malarkey Black, the President and CEO of the Regional Airline Association said in an interview with ABC News. “I will say we’ve made the grass on the other side of the fence very, very green. This is an attractive career with a really high ROI on the training dollar. The problem is, if you can’t get over the fence, it doesn’t matter how green the grass is on the other side, you can’t access it.”
Student loans can be difficult to obtain and expensive, making it impossible for some aspiring pilots. “You’re allowed to use a student loan to cover flight training, but it’s not enough. Student loan is capped in an undergraduate environment, and it doesn’t come close to covering the actual cost of a flight training degree,” Malarkey Black explained. Airline trade groups are lobbying for fundamental policy changes to ensure any aspiring pilot has the ability to attend flight school. For now there is no legislation on the table.
Bottom line
Consumers should expect higher fares, fewer flights, and more cancellations in the coming years.
However, If you are looking for a lucrative career and ready to put in the time and money, you likely won’t have a problem finding a job as an airline pilot.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Health officials in Philadelphia voted Thursday evening to drop the city’s indoor mask mandate, just days after the requirement officially went back into effect on Monday.
“Due to decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts, the city will move to strongly recommending masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate. Given the latest data, the Board of Health voted tonight to rescind the mandate,” a representative from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s office told ABC News on Thursday.
It is still unclear exactly when the mandate will officially be lifted.
Philadelphia first ended its mask mandate in the beginning of March before reinstating it a little over a month later. The new mask mandate that went into effect Monday required masks in all indoor public spaces, including schools, childcare settings, businesses, restaurants, and government buildings.
“I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this again. I wish this pandemic was over just as much as any of you but I am very worried about our vulnerable neighbors and loved ones,” Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said during a press conference when the new mandate was first announced April 11. “My hope that our actions today will slow the spread of COVID and help us avoid seeing our ERs, once again, gets so crowded, that people can’t get timely care when they need it.”
The abrupt shift comes just hours after Kenney had defended the decision to reinstate the city’s mask mandate during a Thursday interview with Washington Post Live.
“Our health professionals recommended that we do a mandate again, because their data have shown that mandates get people to wear them more than just highly recommended,” Kenney said in the interview. “Our case counts were 240% higher than they were when we got rid of the mask mandate a month ago. … Our belief is that wearing masks again will tamp down the case counts and hospitalizations … and allow us … to get back to more normalcy.”
The city’s mask mandate had drawn sharp criticism from some residents, with some local business owners going as far as to file a lawsuit against the city in an effort to overturn the requirement.
When asked about the pushback, Kenney insisted that he believes wearing a mask is the “simplest” action someone can take to keep their community safe.
“The mask issue … has become such a politicized issue. It’s the most simplest thing you can do to keep yourself safe and to keep people safe. And the politicization of this issue … has just made everyone crazy about it. It’s not a big burden to wear a mask,” Kenney told Washington Post Live. “I’m sad to say that this nation has devolved into a selfish bunch who want what they want for themselves and are sometimes not willing to help each other out as Americans.”
