Severe staffing shortages in Philadelphia and an inadequate response by US Airways management were to blame for a holiday travel fiasco that afflicted 560,000 passengers, a government report released yesterday concluded.

		More on US Airways On the Net: Text of the report by the U.S. Transportation Department inspector general, in pdf format Related article: US Airway's grounded Fla. flights lost money

The finding by the U.S. Transportation Department's inspector general appeared to contradict the initial response of US Airways Chief Executive Officer Bruce Lakefield, who attributed the "operational meltdown" to a high number of sick calls among certain employees, citing the "irresponsible actions of a few."

All told, US Airways canceled 405 flights, delayed another 3,900 and logged 72,000 baggage complaints during the Christmas travel period, with the bulk of the problems occurring that weekend. The fiasco overloaded US Airways for several days, with 55 percent of the calls to reservations and service centers going unanswered on Friday, Christmas Eve.

Inspector General Kenneth Mead, asked by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to find out what happened, said yesterday that US Airways knew it would be short baggage handlers and flight attendants over the Christmas holiday travel crunch, especially in Philadelphia, but that, "Plans were not sufficient to prevent the shortages that occurred."

US Airways, which has increased its flights from Philadelphia while drawing down in Pittsburgh, asked baggage handlers to work overtime, even offering chances to win personal computers and football tickets, but few volunteered and "the plan did not work." By Dec. 25, Philadelphia was 292 positions short of the number needed to operate the station effectively.

Eight flights departed with no bags on board because not enough employees were on the ground to load the luggage.

And more than 400 bags were still unclaimed as of late January.

The inspector general also found that, contrary to company arguments, flight attendant sick calls were no higher than the corresponding holiday period a year earlier, in December 2003.

Management, he said, "knew well in advance that their flight attendant staffing levels were not sufficient to cover the December schedule but had made compensating plans that ultimately did not work."

Among the failed attempts was a request that flight attendants increase their monthly flying obligation by five hours. Neither the company nor the flight attendants union could explain to the inspector general why that did not happen.

Individual flight attendants were responsible for adding the hours, but the inspector general said US Airways managers should have known that the hours were not being added.

The airline also tried to encourage voluntary overtime by offering free airline tickets and laptop computers, and hoped that furloughed flight attendants would return to work in large numbers. But, "The incentives did not have the effect that management hoped."

Hoping to avoid a repeat of the holiday problems, US Airways is now trying to hire more people in Philadelphia, with job offers made recently to 260 applicants, and a new contract signed with the flight attendants union allows the airline to increase monthly flying time by five to 10 hours.

"We have worked very hard since that time to improve our staffing situation and implement other changes that will enhance our operations," the airline said yesterday in response to the inspector general's report.

But with the airline still in bankruptcy and adding flights while it cuts pay, the inspector general said, "We have no way to determine whether those actions will prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future."