Credibility Nosedive
Imagine planning out a whole a** vacation, getting a couple of days off work, and schlepping yourself and your ungrateful family to the airport, only for your flight to be canceled. That’s exactly what happened at every single airport across the United States today. Great way to start the fam vacay.
Perhaps the only solace to take is the knowledge that along with your own flight, at least 1,309 others were canceled as of 5 pm. You’re not alone. And if that’s not good enough, over 9,206 flights across the country have been delayed in that same time frame.
This leads us to just one question: WHAT HAPPENED?!
Basically, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) f*cked it. Apologies for the language, but there’s simply no other way to encompass just how bad this was.
As part of the FAA’s attempt to make sure planes don’t crash into things or each other and commit an accidental mini-genocide in doing so, the FAA operates a system called NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) that informs pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs) of real-time hazards over their flight course. (It’s kinda important.)
On Wednesday morning, out of absolutely nowhere, NOTAM went dark. Pilots, ATCs, and anyone else involved lost real-time info on what might cause them to crash, burn, and die, so naturally, there was a nationwide grounding of flights. Around 9 am, air travel resumed, but all hell had already broken loose.
Oh, I can’t even tell you how mad I’d be. If my flight and subsequent vacation got delayed because of this, there’d be a video of me circulating on Tiktok and everywhere else committing the most heinous Ken/Karen behavior you’ve ever seen.
A lot of people immediately presumed this must be the result of a cyberattack. As of 7:33 pm last night, all signs point to regular ol’ incompetence.
But that theory of cyberwar makes sense, and NOTAM would be a damn good spot to hit. Airlines and the service they provide drive a large part of our economy, so stoppage of any kind is worrisome enough.
A nationwide delay that’s caused thousands of cancellations and delays, which, of course, will lead to even more cancellations and delays, is a mess even your ScrubDaddy can’t clean up.
Good luck to anyone going anywhere anytime soon. You’ll need it!
The big question: Will this fiasco, along with SouthWest’s shenanigans last week and the whole Boeing 737 thing and so many others, cause people to reconsider flying to any material degree? What are the broader implications for long-distance travel if the safety regulator keeps humiliating themselves?
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