感恩节临近, 美航为迎接3000万乘客做准备

Millions of Americans, my family among them, will travel this week for Thanksgiving.

数以百万计的美国人，包括我的家人，将在本周外出过感恩节。

The Transportation Security Administration, the TSA, is bracing for more air travelers than ever before, but this comes at a time when the U.S. aviation system is showing signs of strain.

美国运输安全管理局(TSA)正准备迎接比以往任何时候都多的航空旅客，但这遇上了美国航空系统呈现出紧张迹象的时候。

NPR's Joel Rose covers transportation and joins us now. Hey there, Joel.

NPR的乔尔·罗斯将报道相关的交通新闻，现在他将和我们连线。你好，乔尔。

Hey, Steve.

你好, 史蒂夫。

OK, at least I won't be flying. But those who do, what are they - what could they expect?

好，至少我不打算坐飞机了。但是那些打算坐飞机的人，他们将会看到什么呢?

Yeah, the number of people flying now is actually higher a little bit than it was before the pandemic.

是的，现在乘坐飞机的人数实际上比疫情前要多一些。

TSA is expecting to screen a record number of people, 30,000,000 in total, in the 12-day period that started last Friday, culminating on Sunday after Thanksgiving, which could be the biggest single-day total ever.

美国运输安全管理局预计，从上周五开始的12天内，安检人数将达到创纪录的3000万人，安检人数将在感恩节后的周日达到顶峰，这可能是有史以来最高的单日安检人数。

Today and tomorrow are also going to be very busy.

今明两天也会很忙。

Road travel is not quite back to pre-pandemic levels yet, but it's close.

公路出行还没有完全恢复到疫情前的水平，但已经接近那个水平了。

AAA is forecasting the third-highest total ever, about 49 million people on the roads.

美国汽车协会预测，约有4900万人会在路上，公路出行人数将达到有史以来的第三高。

Can't wait to be one of them.

等不及要成为他们中的一员了。

Is the aviation system, though, ready for the increased volume? There are serious concerns about that.

然而，航空系统是否为增加的出行人数做好了准备? 这让人深感担忧。

The Federal Aviation Administration commissioned a safety review by outside experts after a series of close calls on runways across the country this year.

今年，全美各地的机场跑道上发生了一系列险情，随后，美国联邦航空管理局(Federal Aviation Administration)委托外部专家进行了一项安全审查。

That group issued a 52-page report last week, and the group had major concerns about the shortage of air-traffic controllers that has left many key air traffic facilities short-staffed.

外部专家团队上周发布了一份长达52页的报告，并对空中交通管制员的短缺表示严重担忧。空中交通管制员的短缺会导致许多关键的空中交通设施人手不足。

That's forcing controllers to work overtime and grueling schedules.

这就使空中交通管制员不得不加班加点工作，日程安排忙碌至极。

The group also raised concerns about outdated equipment and facilities.

外部专家团队还对老旧的设备、设施表示担忧。

The report says, quote, "urgent action" is needed to maintain safety.

这份报告称需要采取“紧急行动”来维护安全。

OK, is the FAA having an urgent response?

美国联邦航空管理局有紧急响应吗?

Well, the newly commissioned FAA administrator, Mike Whitaker, says the agency welcomed that report.

新上任的联邦航空局局长迈克·惠特克表示，航空局欣然接受这份报告的要求。

Whitaker told reporters yesterday the agency is already taking some steps to speed up the hiring of more air-traffic controllers.

惠特克昨天告诉记者，航空局已经采取了一些旨在加快雇用更多的空中交通管制员的措施。

That includes hiring qualified students directly from aeronautical schools and using new high-resolution training simulators to take some of the pressure off of the agency's training academy in Oklahoma.

这些措施包括直接从航空学校招聘合格的学生，使用新的高分辨率训练模拟器，以减轻航空局在俄克拉荷马州培训学院的部分压力。

And Whitaker says he's also looking at ways to improve the success rate for trainees.

惠特克表示，他也在寻找提高培训人员成功率的方法。

There's a fairly high failure rate in the academy and in facilities.

培训学院和空中设施的失败率相当高。

My initial focus has been on how to make these numbers go up quickly without lowering standards.

我最初关注的是如何在不降低标准的情况下使合格人数迅速上升。

But there really are no quick fixes here. It takes a long time to train air-traffic controllers.

但现在确实没有快速的解决办法。训练空中交通管制员需要很长时间。

The FAA has a thousand fewer of them than it did a decade ago, and at the current hiring rate, it's just barely keeping up with retirements.

与十年前相比，联邦航空局的空中交通管制员减少了1000人，按照目前的招聘速度，招聘人数几乎赶不上退休人数。