Airline flight cancellations

Archer Jack

Archer Jack

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Oct 24, 2018
Messages
302
Location
Mansfield, TX
Display Name
Display name:
Jack
My older brother, who is a bit of a conspiracy theory nutcase, told me the reason for all the recent flight cancellations is not a pilot shortage but rather because the FAA fired more than 4000 controllers for not getting covid vaccinations. He quoted some mysterious news source which I have never heard of. I asked him if he was talking about the time Reagan fired all the controllers back in 1981. He said no and seemed surprised that I haven't heard about the recent covid related firings. I watch the news every day and have heard nothing about this. Of course he said this is because the govt. is keeping this hushed up. I think brother may be off his medications again. Has anyone else heard about this? :loco:
 
Archer Jack said:
My older brother, who is a bit of a conspiracy theory nutcase, told me the reason for all the recent flight cancellations is not a pilot shortage but rather because the FAA fired more than 4000 controllers for not getting covid vaccinations. He quoted some mysterious news source which I have never heard of. I asked him if he was talking about the time Reagan fired all the controllers back in 1981. He said no and seemed surprised that I haven't heard about the recent covid related firings. I watch the news every day and have heard nothing about this. Of course he said this is because the govt. is keeping this hushed up. I think brother may be off his medications again. Has anyone else heard about this? :loco:
Click to expand...
We'd know about it, if the FAA fired 400 controllers for a given reason-much less 4000. Much less for a cause so politicized by Fox news.
 
Your older brother is wrong. I base that on what I hear from my airline pilot friends discussing timing-out and pilot shortages to fill the flying public’s demands.

Sure, FAA is hiring now, but the airlines have been on a hiring binge. That’s a second data point for you.

Third data point- what do YOU think when you fly? Have controllers been missing in action or overloaded? Been denied or dropped from flight-following often?

Don’t smoke his cigars.
 
Why would flights be cancelled for a controller shortage.??

I am sorry flight 234, your flight can't be completed because all of our controllers are busy at this time. Please enter the nearest published hold and you will be cleared in as soon as the next controller is available..
 
I like a good conspiracy as much as the next guy, so can we do a little better? It would also be nice if people would quit tossing political rocks and then hiding their hand ...
 
I don't know about you but I died of covid in June of 2020 so I wouldn't notice the lack of controllers.
 
weak troll thread
 
Zeldman said:
Why would flights be cancelled for a controller shortage.??
Click to expand...
Because ATC will issue a delay program for the affected facility(ies). When the restrictions are bad enough, airlines with significant number of flights to, or through, that facility will have to selectively cancel flights so that the remaining flights can operate with some semblance of punctuality.

All ATC facilities are short staff and have been for as long as I can remember. It is worse now than it was prior to CV19. Jacksonville Center is apparently particularly short staffed and has been frequently the subject of delay programs with rather significant restrictions.

You can see the current programs at https://nasstatus.faa.gov/

As I reply, there are two Airspace Flow Programs affective flights through Jacksonville center. These are due to thunderstorms, not staffing, but that's what you'll look for at that link.

JAX.jpg
 
They weren't fired, rather they were moved to a secret underground laboratory where they are acting as controllers for the alien spacecraft coming to take over the Earth with the cooperation of the government. I read it online.
 
DesertNomad said:
They weren't fired, rather they were moved to a secret underground laboratory where they are acting as controllers for the alien spacecraft coming to take over the Earth with the cooperation of the government. I read it online.
Click to expand...
Underneath KDEN for sure.
 
DesertNomad said:
They weren't fired, rather they were moved to a secret underground laboratory where they are acting as controllers for the alien spacecraft coming to take over the Earth with the cooperation of the government. I read it online.
Click to expand...

Reported.

You need to confine this discussion to the TS/NOFORN subforum of POA, please.

Mods, please move.
 
Larry in TN said:
Because ATC will issue a delay program for the affected facility(ies). When the restrictions are bad enough, airlines with significant number of flights to, or through, that facility will have to selectively cancel flights so that the remaining flights can operate with some semblance of punctuality.

All ATC facilities are short staff and have been for as long as I can remember. It is worse now than it was prior to CV19. Jacksonville Center is apparently particularly short staffed and has been frequently the subject of delay programs with rather significant restrictions.

You can see the current programs at https://nasstatus.faa.gov/

As I reply, there are two Airspace Flow Programs affective flights through Jacksonville center. These are due to thunderstorms, not staffing, but that's what you'll look for at that link.

View attachment 108466
Click to expand...

This is absolutely the case. I have no idea if any controllers were fired, much less 4,000 of them, but there is no doubt that a vaccine mandate was issued for them and some number of them elected to go to other jobs rather than get the vaccine. That is not a political statement, just a matter of fact.

There is also no doubt that many ATC Centers are short staffed and Jacksonville Center is extremely short staffed. I am based out of Ft. Lauderdale International and can tell you first hand that flights are delayed and cancelled because there is not sufficient capacity in the system to handle the amount of traffic that is scheduled. ATC meters departures when short staffed, which puts everyone behind anywhere from 20 minutes and up.

I do not believe that it is even a secret that delays and cancellations are the result of being short staffed, both with the airlines and ATC.

Having said that, I have no idea if you brother is taking his meds….

Abram Finkelstein
N685AS
 
luvflyin said:
Quick. Before it gets shutdown. What does TS/NOFORN mean? Use *'s as needed.
Click to expand...

Top Secret/No Foreign

Sometimes classified material is releaseable to appropriately cleared foreign nationals (with a need to know). Sometimes it's NOFORN and therefore is not releaseable.

put another way, if you don't know what TS/NOFORN is, then you definitely aren't cleared for it. :)
 
Bob Noel said:
Top Secret/No Foreign

Sometimes classified material is releaseable to appropriately cleared foreign nationals (with a need to know). Sometimes it's NOFORN and therefore is not releaseable.

put another way, if you don't know what TS/NOFORN is, then you definitely aren't cleared for it. :)
Click to expand...
Well I'll be dipped. It's real.
 
Abram said:
This is absolutely the case. I have no idea if any controllers were fired, much less 4,000 of them, but there is no doubt that a vaccine mandate was issued for them and some number of them elected to go to other jobs rather than get the vaccine. That is not a political statement, just a matter of fact.

There is also no doubt that many ATC Centers are short staffed and Jacksonville Center is extremely short staffed. I am based out of Ft. Lauderdale International and can tell you first hand that flights are delayed and cancelled because there is not sufficient capacity in the system to handle the amount of traffic that is scheduled. ATC meters departures when short staffed, which puts everyone behind anywhere from 20 minutes and up.

I do not believe that it is even a secret that delays and cancellations are the result of being short staffed, both with the airlines and ATC.

Having said that, I have no idea if you brother is taking his meds….

Abram Finkelstein
N685AS
Click to expand...
Not to put too much of a political spin on it but my older brother is so devoted to a previous president that he thinks the current one is responsible for all problems including supposedly firing all those controllers. It's kind of sad to see. He (my brother) is a retired Air Force Lt. Col. with 25 yrs. flying F-4's, a degree in chemical engineering and an MBA. He's a great guy but I believe his cognitive abilities are declining. Kind of sad.:(
 
SkyChaser said:
For context, he's not so much different from all the people running around blaming all the current problems on the previous president. That is also sad to see. :(
Click to expand...
Are we STILL blaming Bush??
 
Palmpilot said:
IBTL! :D
Click to expand...

Agreed. I thought this one was swirling in the bowl after the first post ... but I'm told that's just the internet and the way the world is. Perhaps that is correct but I retain the right to be oblivious to reality too ... :oops:
 
My son is in Austria with the Michigan State Matching band performing. He got the “terrible” news his flight home got cancelled and they rebooked him a day and a half later. I just can’t imagine being 19 in Vienna for an extra day with no band agenda! :) for him it worked out just fine!
 
Huckster79 said:
My son is in Austria with the Michigan State Matching band performing. He got the “terrible” news his flight home got cancelled and they rebooked him a day and a half later. I just can’t imagine being 19 in Vienna for an extra day with no band agenda! :) for him it worked out just fine!
Click to expand...

What happens if it ends up longer than a day? Sister had to cancel week long trip because they couldn't get her there for four more days. Changing the return date was not possible. What happens if it's 2 weeks, and the hotel you were in is now booked? Or you're dropping at extra $250 a day for 14 days if it's not, or...
 
My wife likes to bid trips with destinations that are smaller that the company sends one mainline aircraft or two a day…makes for longer layovers in general and time for her to enjoy wherever…she work a four day over July 4th and half her legs were canceled…she has another four day coming up at the end of the week and two out of her eight legs were canceled this morning. It’s the mainline aircraft to the smaller destination also served by the regional with flights. Seems to be a trend.
 
Like I said earlier, there is a pilot shortage... we need taller pilots. o_O
 
Huckster79 said:
My son is in Austria with the Michigan State Matching band performing. He got the “terrible” news his flight home got cancelled and they rebooked him a day and a half later. I just can’t imagine being 19 in Vienna for an extra day with no band agenda! :) for him it worked out just fine!
Click to expand...
Try finding a safe place for your 16-year-old daughter to spend the night at an airline hub.:confused:

(It actually only took two phone calls…it happened to be the airport that my cousin’s godparents live a couple of miles from. She had never met them, but it worked out well.)
 
Bob Noel said:
Top Secret/No Foreign

Sometimes classified material is releaseable to appropriately cleared foreign nationals (with a need to know). Sometimes it's NOFORN and therefore is not releaseable.

put another way, if you don't know what TS/NOFORN is, then you definitely aren't cleared for it. :)
Click to expand...
Sorta funny NORFORN story. We pull into Port Canaveral to shoot a trident missile. All the guys are getting plastered at the stripper bars every night. Of course they start falling in love and bringing them on the boat for tours. At the same time one of the lifer Nav ET's goes to bring his wife on board. She's a foreign national from Cuba. Denied. I think the whole sub was stamped NOFORN LOL!
 
Back to original topic. I know two guys who are finished all the way up to IOE and the first sat over 4 months and had to sims again to be current before he did his IOE. My other friend is now in the same limbo expecting more than 4 months. So you basically have 4 months supply of ATP signed of first officers ready to go but no Check Airman to fly with. Supposedly the check airman are leaving to go to the big carriers leaving them in at least part of the predicament.

Plus if the airlines are like any other business...you take all the orders you can right now and show revenue and solve the problem then if you have one. Seems like they have overbooked by like 25% or more.
 
Huckster79 said:
My son is in Austria with the Michigan State Matching band performing. He got the “terrible” news his flight home got cancelled and they rebooked him a day and a half later. I just can’t imagine being 19 in Vienna for an extra day with no band agenda! :) for him it worked out just fine!
Click to expand...

And who is paying his expenses for those extra days?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top