Twister Frost
Well-known member
Pretty good insight at the end!
This is from a lawyer who was flying home to New York from
Wyoming.
My experience yesterday was interesting.
I flew from Gillette to Denver. No problems. When I arrived at Denver it looked like there might be some weather issues in the midwest as flights coming in from Chicago were delayed. Soon flight after flight was delayed coming and going. My 1:15 flight delayed to 1:45, then 2:00 and then 2:10. There was no plane to board. It finally arrived about 2:00 and we boarded. We sat on the ground while they added more fuel.
We were told that there had been an issue with a plane on the ground in Chicago which was causing delays. We were finally off.
About 45 minutes in to the flight the captain came on the PA and said that he had been advised that President Obama had decided to celebrate his birthday in Chicago and O'Hare had been shut down while he was landing and that 1 of the 3 runways was now closed for security for Air Force One. He had been instructed to fly as far as Sioux City, Iowa and then circle until further notice. We then spent close to two hours flying circles over cornfields.
We landed at O'Hare more than 2 hours late, but were able to see Air Force One - one of the 3 runways shut down. Needless to say the airport was in total chaos as every plane in and out had been delayed. My flight to Albany which was scheduled for 9:15 left nearly 2 hours late which meant it was nearly 3 a.m. this morning before I was home.
All I kept thinking about was how many millions of dollars this was costing United and the other airlines that use O'Hare. There were thousands of gallons of fuel burned while nearly every plane in the country was caught up in this. We were fortunate to be loaded with excess fuel in anticipation of this as I kept hearing about planes setting down all over the place to refuel while they waited to come in.
There were thousands of employees who were working until the wee hours of the morning at O'Hare and every other connecting airport who have to be paid overtime.
You can't tell me that there isn't a less necessary airport than O'Hare
(#1 hub in the country) where Air Force One can be landed when the President wants to go home. This was absolutely ridiculous and I can't believe that not one word of the crippling of air traffic yesterday made the media.
This is from a lawyer who was flying home to New York from
Wyoming.
My experience yesterday was interesting.
I flew from Gillette to Denver. No problems. When I arrived at Denver it looked like there might be some weather issues in the midwest as flights coming in from Chicago were delayed. Soon flight after flight was delayed coming and going. My 1:15 flight delayed to 1:45, then 2:00 and then 2:10. There was no plane to board. It finally arrived about 2:00 and we boarded. We sat on the ground while they added more fuel.
We were told that there had been an issue with a plane on the ground in Chicago which was causing delays. We were finally off.
About 45 minutes in to the flight the captain came on the PA and said that he had been advised that President Obama had decided to celebrate his birthday in Chicago and O'Hare had been shut down while he was landing and that 1 of the 3 runways was now closed for security for Air Force One. He had been instructed to fly as far as Sioux City, Iowa and then circle until further notice. We then spent close to two hours flying circles over cornfields.
We landed at O'Hare more than 2 hours late, but were able to see Air Force One - one of the 3 runways shut down. Needless to say the airport was in total chaos as every plane in and out had been delayed. My flight to Albany which was scheduled for 9:15 left nearly 2 hours late which meant it was nearly 3 a.m. this morning before I was home.
All I kept thinking about was how many millions of dollars this was costing United and the other airlines that use O'Hare. There were thousands of gallons of fuel burned while nearly every plane in the country was caught up in this. We were fortunate to be loaded with excess fuel in anticipation of this as I kept hearing about planes setting down all over the place to refuel while they waited to come in.
There were thousands of employees who were working until the wee hours of the morning at O'Hare and every other connecting airport who have to be paid overtime.
You can't tell me that there isn't a less necessary airport than O'Hare
(#1 hub in the country) where Air Force One can be landed when the President wants to go home. This was absolutely ridiculous and I can't believe that not one word of the crippling of air traffic yesterday made the media.