'Saturday Night Live' Takes Shot At U.S. Airport Crisis

Widespread issues with air travel are affecting thousands of travelers across the United States, and the mishaps recently received some national attention.

During the most recent episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," comedian Colin Jost took some shots at the ongoing airport crisis during a segment on "Weekend Update."

Jost and segment co-host Michael Che were firing jokes between each other in quick succession, and Jost landed on the topic of the embattled Newark Liberty International Airport.

"A new report shows that there have been at least nine incidents at Newark airport where air traffic controllers have lost contact with planes that were about to land," Jost began.

"But luckily it’s Newark so planes can just follow the smell."

Jost's joke may have been lighthearted, but the issues in Newark have been no laughing matter for passengers and air traffic controllers.

After equipment malfunctions caused communications to go dark between the airport and planes in the sky, several air traffic controllers took contractual leaves of absence, citing the stress of managing planes without a way to communicate.

The shortage of trained air traffic controllers has led to numerous delays over the last several weeks, exacerbating the problems that have existed with air travel throughout America this year.

High-profile accidents in cities like Washington D.C. and Philadelphia have claimed dozens of lives in the last few months, and government officials say they are committed to finding solutions.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Alaska senator Dan Sullivan have said that they plan to work on sweeping reform in air travel, including ensuring "rigorous standards" they say were not upheld during the previous administration.

"What we don't want, unfortunately – it's happened – is have a big crash and tragedy as the thing that inspires change," Sullivan said.

"I watched this: Hiring people for the FAA in terms of air traffic controllers is competitive. It requires real schooling. It requires high performance....they started taking people off the street literally with no background in any of this. We’ve got to get back to the rigorous FAA standards."

We'll see what Duffy and Sullivan have in store for the future of American air travel, but Jost's jab on SNL proves that the issue is clear and present in minds all around the country.