Opinion: What $50 billion in taxpayer aid for airlines did not fix

Prosperity is perplexing for the airline industry. And vexing for passengers. This summer, Americans have invaded airports like it was the evacuation of Saigon. Cancellations are getting an extra boost from climate change, and our frustrations are mounting. You might think this misery is tied to the industry’s return to normal levels of indifferent service. But we aren’t sustaining pre-pandemic flight levels. Domestic airlines are on track to be 150 million “enplanements” behind 2019 this year, according to one estimate. That’s a lot of people going nowhere.