Tarmac Rule Suspension Idea Heralds Really Long Flight Delays

by Chris Owen on

Sequester cuts have had already had an impact on travel, grounding the Navy’s Blue Angels at air shows, turning Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental into a third world-like airport and delaying the opening of national parks. This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began furloughs for some of its 47,000 agency employees, including 15,000 air traffic controllers. Faced with flight delays that could add up to hours, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering a temporary suspension of the three-hour tarmac delay rule, making air travelers the clear losers in the deal.

Just when air travelers were beginning to enjoy better on-time performance by airlines, partially fueled by the 2010 Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, evidence is mounting that U.S. airlines will experience longer and longer delays. In response, the DOT is considering an application filed by Airlines for America (A4A) and the Regional Airline Association (RAA) to suspend the three-hour tarmac delay.

That rule also requires airlines to keep toilets open, provide water and essentials for passengers held for hours on the tarmac and allow them to deplane after three hours for domestic flights and four hours on international flights.

The exemption, if granted, would greatly reduce the possibility of airlines being fined up to $27,500 per passenger.Cutbacks are estimated to delay as many as 6,700 flights each day at the nation’s 14 biggest airports said a report in the International Business Times. Airports affected include Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and all airports serving New York City.

History tells us that being without air traffic controllers is a bad idea, but not one that means long-term travel disruption. When President Reagan fired air traffic controllers in 1981, air travel slowed. But after supervisors and military controllers joined non-striking controllers, 80 percent of flights were operating normally.




[Photo credit – Flickr user shutterbug4000]

Impact Of Sequester Cuts On Travel: Festivals Not So Festive

by Chris Owen on

Recent sequester cuts have had a big impact on travel in a number of ways. Cutbacks have resulted in everything from grounding the Navy’s Blue Angels at dozens of air shows around the country to turning Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental into a third world-like airport. Cuts to the budgets of national parks have popular attractions opening on a delayed schedule, closing visitor centers and operating without campgrounds.

But those who (still) work and operate facilities, festivals and events that would normally draw travelers from around the world are pressing on, promising to make the best of a bad situation.

A highlight, if not the main attraction, to Fleet Week at a number of major U.S. cities is a showcase of active duty military ships, recently deployed in overseas operations and brought to town for the event.A tradition of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard since 1935, Fleet Week began in San Diego with 114 warships and 400 military planes. Since then, annual Fleet Week events began in San Francisco, New York City and Fort Lauderdale. Seattle, Washington, includes fleet week during the annual Seafair. In Portland, Oregon, fleet week is part of the annual Portland Rose Festival.

The shows brought ships full of military personnel to town, as well as travelers who looked forward to tours of ships, military demonstrations and air shows, adding to local tourism revenue. But on the heels of the secretary of defense announcing that ships will not be visiting, show organizers are turning to a different focus.

“We’re all about bringing a little more recognition to our local units,” said Jean-Sebastien Gros of Broward Navy Days Inc., the non-profit organization that spearheads Florida’s Fleet Week Port Everglades, in this NBC Miami report.

The Fort Lauderdale Fleet Week event, still scheduled for April 29 through May 6, normally has hotels booked full and Florida highways clogged for a week. Organizers hope to keep the lion’s share of that activity by hosting a variety of other events.

Golf tournaments, a 5K race, major league baseball games, culinary competitions and deep-sea fishing will attempt to replace active-duty warships and the Blue Angels. Canceled ship tours will give way to honoring the active duty military of the United States Southern Command and Coast Guard District 7, both based in South Florida.

It’s a sign of the times to be sure and event organizers are to be commended for pressing on. Still, this travel-affecting result of sequester budget cuts can’t help but make one wonder if there was not some other way to address this problem with the nation’s economy.

“No one can deny that we have passed through troubled years. No one can fail to feel the inspiration of your high purpose. I wish you great success,” said President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 at the beginning of the first fleet week.

[Photo credit – Flickr user St0rmz]

Video Of The Day: Fighter Jet Flies Above Northern California

by Libby Zay on

Here’s a dash cam video you won’t soon forget. An F/A-18 Hornet cruises at top speed through the canyons of Northern California, showing off the landscape of the area while also completing amazing acrobatics. Watch how ridiculously close to the ground the pilot flies as he inverts turns and completes barrel rolls just over tree tops and riverbanks. These fighter jets are the same aircraft used by the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron. If the inside of the plane looks familiar, that’s because the machines often make movie cameos; the planes have been used in “Independence Day,” “Behind Enemy Lines” and many others.

Photo of the Day (1.11.11)

by Stephen Greenwood on

There are few things in aviation that are more impressive than modern aerobatics. Take a minute to consider what’s happening in this picture: nine difference pilots controlling machines that can reach speeds of 800mph, all within just a few feet of eachother.

If you’ve heard of or seen the Blue Angels, then you may be familiar with their English counterparts; the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows. Widely regarded as one of the best aerobatics teams in the world, the nine-man team has performed over 4,000 displays across 53 countries since their inception in 1965. Today’s Photo of the Day by Emerald2810 is an astounding shot of the Red Arrows in their trademark diamond formation, high above Epsom, Surrey in England.

If you have a favorite shot from an air show or travel festival, we’d love to see it. Share it with us at Gadling’s Flickr Group and it could wind up right here as our next Photo of the Day.