Chip Bok for June 29, 2023

Hackers should be shot, or maybe drawn and quartered when they interfere with other people’s lives

Good they probably deserve it

“… United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby told employees that a shortage of air traffic controllers affected about 150,000 passengers in recent days as the carrier struggles with canceled flights brought on by thunderstorms in the New York area.

In an email late Monday afternoon, Kirby took direct aim at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying short staffing left the agency unable to deal with the inclement weather.

“The FAA frankly failed us this weekend,” Kirby wrote.

After a relatively smooth start to the summer travel season, the surge in delayed and canceled flights — combined with Kirby’s email — set up a clash between one of the nation’s largest airlines and the government agency responsible for keeping the skies safe as the busy Fourth of July weekend approaches. It follows a report by the Transportation Department’s inspector general last week that found the agency had taken only limited steps to address shortages and repeated warnings by the air traffic controllers’ union that too few employees were available. …" __ WAPO

We must get rid of all regulations like passenger safety so the CEOs can make more money.

Mayor Pete on the job. He thinks he’s a superstar because he compares his performance to Joe and Kamala.

The FAA is still slow in upgrading the airflight system. We lag behind other nations in this regard. But, there is blame to go around too toward the leaders of the airlines and their desire for profit over service and safety. Add to all this the climate change effect on our weather systems and you have a recipe for problems to come.

With today’s technology, we can’t even get off the ground. With dramatic weather changes, the skies are even harder to conquer.

This all goes back to the PATCO strike and mass firings of air traffic controllers and subsequent reduced funding of FAA by the government in the 1980s. Thanks Ronnie.

The technology exists to make air traffic safer — and more manageable by AirTraffic Controllers. The military uses it — and you likely use it in your phone whenever you use GPS. Come on, FAA! Bite the bullet and upgrade.

I dunno, I muse whenever some variety of this ‘FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS AND DELAYS!!’ happens that maybe we just got spoiled into thinking we HAVE to fly; maybe not everybody needs to fly everywhere; maybe airline prices need to go WAY up before people will get to an insight that maybe we should invest in alternatives to flights for every travel whim.

Government makes me see red too!

Suggest Mr. Bok and Mr. ECO start watching “Air Disasters” to see what air traffic controllers have to deal with every minute of every single working day and night. To be hired they have to be under 31, willing to work rotating shifts and deal with God knows how many planes that need to land or takeoff. I’m willing to bet neither one of them wants that job! (And neither do many of the commentators.) Also note how bad weather impacts traffic and planes since neither one seems to know. And of course, neither one wants to increase their taxes to pay for additional controllers. Deregulating air transport was a huge mistake. Not to mention Reagan’s theatrics.

The problems at the airports have been linked to the air quality problems because of the climate-change-related fires in Canada. And there is a shortage of air-traffic controllers. Gee, I wonder what the root cause of that shortage is?