2026 has been a frustrating year for American flyers. Oil price volatility from the Iran war is translating to higher ticket prices, and Congress’s failure to fund the Transportation Security Administration has fueled airport chaos. The fiasco currently unfolding with Spirit Airlines, which could leave travelers with fewer choices or taxpayers with a bigger bill, is the latest complication.
Some have been quick to blame the free market and airlines for the travel turbulence. But these are clearly government-caused problems, not market ones.
Modern flying is a capitalist success story that showcases what can happen when the government loosens its regulatory grip. Prior to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Uncle Sam micromanaged airline routes, prices, and day-to-day operations. As a result, flying was a luxury only the ultra-wealthy could afford. Prices for domestic flights often exceeded $1,000 when adjusted for inflation.
HOUSE PASSES AVIATION BILL AIMED AT PREVENTING REPEAT OF POTOMAC MIDAIR COLLISION
Deregulation changed that. By getting Washington out of the way, competition flourished as companies aggressively competed for consumer dollars. Airlines innovated, prices fell, and consumer access expanded.
Today, nearly 9 in 10 Americans have flown in their lifetimes, compared with just half in the 1970s. Yes, the era of steak dinners and champagne in coach is over. But so too is the price tag that came with it. Airfares continue to decline with inflation-adjusted prices falling nearly 40% since 1995, according to federal data.
Yet, even as the market innovates, Washington continues to step on its toes.
The financial troubles of Spirit Airlines are a sad case of collateral damage. More expensive jet fuel is certainly a factor in the company’s fiscal distress, but the discount carrier’s obituary was written three years ago under the Biden administration. The White House blocked a merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines — arguing the deal would undermine competition.
Fast forward to today, and that logic has aged like milk. In reality, the government intervention eliminated a path provided by the free market to keep Spirit Airlines economically viable. Taxpayers and travelers can thank former President Joe Biden for this debacle.
Then there’s the sorry state of air travel infrastructure. While airlines manage their fleets and pricing, maintaining air traffic control systems and a workforce to staff them remains firmly in government hands. With federal bureaucrats piloting the operation, the duties have been fulfilled as well as you might expect: poorly.
Much of the Federal Aviation Administration’s technology is decades out of date and better suited for the National Air and Space Museum than to maneuver jumbo jets. These systems are more prone to failure and less capable of handling modern traffic volumes — leaving passengers to deal with cascading delays and cancellations.
The air traffic control workforce tells a similar story. The United States is currently short thousands of air traffic controllers, thanks to years of neglect under past administrations. Biden’s transportation chief, Pete Buttigieg, focused more on diversity, equity, and inclusion benchmarks than on merit-based recruiting.
OPINION: BRINGING OUR NATIONAL AIRSPACE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
While the Trump administration is working to both fill this employment gap and modernize its tools, its efforts are being undermined by stalemates in Congress. During last fall’s government shutdown, air traffic controllers went weeks without pay, forcing many to quit. The latest Homeland Security funding lapse similarly pressured hundreds of TSA officers to resign.
Government dysfunction is nothing new, nor is scapegoating private companies and the free market for the resulting problems. But if regulators and policymakers are serious about fixing America’s travel headaches, they should look in the mirror.
Jackson Shedelbower is the executive director of the Center for Transportation Policy.