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The training and requirements to be an ATC are insane, in a extremely thorough way. I highly doubt the Republican administration would be able to find competent replacements among their 'patriots'.
That said, I doubt further that they would actually care and not just tell people to eat cake, or just privatize the ATC network to some billionaire.
They can pull up some people from the military who run ATC on bases. Those bases don't have anywhere near the traffic levels that large commercial hubs do, but they might be able to move people around and fill in capacity at smaller airports.
That said, the shutdown is only accelerating issues that have been there since Reagan fired the striking ATC workers. Trump can bloviate about "TRUE PATRIOTS" all he wants. Patriotism can't direct a plane to the right runway. There's a certain level of reality that gets in the way. Ending the shutdown won't change the long term trends. Doing the same plan a second time would only end in disaster. It barely worked the first time; it's what put us on this long term downwards cycle on the whole ATC system.
Combat controllers. They served after the Haitian earthquake, directing some 200 flights per day into Port-au-Prince. But they are specialized to work in austere environments. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/117884/combat-controllers-crucial-to-haiti-earthquake-relief/
ATL does over 500 per hour at peak times, and averages 200/hr.
200 flights per day are what Chicago Midway does. Chicago O'Hare does 10 times that much.
Combat controllers can only go so far.
I agree. ATCs should be better paid and have job benefits that entice people to get involved in the industry. It’s such an important position but it’s not compensated as such.
If they privatize it then it's even easier to strike as they will no longer be held to government standards.
Competent is the word here ... I have the feeling his current administration replaced 70% of competent people with folks totally unfit for the job.
Examples are FBI's Patel, or "Mr Health" Kennedy, and the expired Newshost leading the War department...
So I can easily see the experienced air controllers be replaced by some interns sifted out from some other departments, slap a week of training on them and airports are good to go.
These people aren't getting paid, he wants them to do slave labor. It costs money to go to work and it's a stressful job anyway.
He has people who change his diapers.
NO KINGS
Hear me out? Wouldn't it be so much more effective to get rid of all those DEI hires and replace every ATC tower with a broccoli headed kid who will refer to every plane as a "buttfor"?
What's a bu. . . wait a minute!
Knowing Trump, he thinks the job is just standing there waving your arms at random
That's exactly what he does as president
I thought this was going to be a video of his "dancing" where he's jerking off two guys.
That would've been a good one. He makes so many stupid arm motions I wanted to show as many as I could find.
just privatize the ATC network to some billionaire.
Didn’t Musk try to steal the FAA code for one of his toilet companies to “rewrite”? I thought that was a headline from the past year.
Last thing I want is to have the person guiding my flight to have gotten the job based on how hard they salute the flag. (Which is really just a way of saying kissing Trump's ass.)
If they are as effective as all the true patriots he's put in charge of the FBI, HSA, DOJ, etc. air travel is doomed.
ATCs: Fuck you, pay me.
Welp, there went any urge I might have had to fly anywhere in the continental United States.
My thought as well. At what point do international flights refuse to land on US airports because it's too dangerous?
There went your ability to do so.
I'm scared to fly if the controllers are anti-dei hires.
That's anti-racist!!
You folks are next in line for the terror list!
I was already there for repeatedly stating that the latter 8 amendments of the bill of rights matter and should be interpreted broadly.
DEI?
It's the year 2025. The democratically-elected president of the world's leading superpower is telling people to work for free or they'll be fired.
We’ve seen this episode before. Regan fired all the underpaid ATCs and used the military to fill in until they could be replaced.
.... And they named an airport after him!
Only MAGAts and jerk-offs use it though.
Oh, please send in the best of the MAGA best to manage our air travel. Pleeeeeeease.
They should all quit. They can’t replace them all.
LOL, they can! But I won't be flying for a while. I have been avoiding flying at all since all the Boeing screwups. So this helps.
It's like charlie kirk's comment about black pilots only instead of black pilots its nazi traffic controllers
General strike for the Christmas week what?
If these new hires are like the new ICE agents in their training and policing, the planes will fall from the sky.
It's weird hearing this from a guy who has never worked a day in his life.
Before you know it there will be GOP Airlines and Democrat Airlines carriers. Each with their own political traffic controllers and trying to knock each other out of the air.
"At Republican Airlines we let Jesus take the yoke 👍"
I’m not sure they’d feed Jesus since he poor.
No. You misunderstand: Jesus is an undocumented immigrant but because he works for a big corporation, he gets left alone until he complains. Then they get rid of him... Along with his entire family.
I vote everybody go on strike from flying. Drive everywhere. Increase carbon emissions! I'm high
Cars cause less gCO2e per passenger per km:
254 domestic flights
195 long haul flights
171 car with just 1 person
41 domestic train
254 domestic flights
171 car with just 1 person
41 domestic train
So, yet more ways the US shits on the atmosphere while bitching about China's emissions.
Ride a bike!
The last thing I want is for a team of those idiots guiding a plane I’m on into the airport.
oh would be hilarious if the government reopened but trump ends up fucking air traffic.
New air traffic control..... Flight 563 needs to land! Yes but Flight 236 is already inbound!
236?!!! That's mostly browns! OK diverting 236 into river, I repeat, 236 diver vessel into river!
Sir! They're not changing direction! Well launch a scud missile now, according to my calculation that will divert the flight into Jimmy's new show in black Harlem plus that underperforming school that sends too many brown kids to MIT.
We did it sir! Flight 563 the private jet of Sheryl's family is coming about to the main gate. We only lost 753 lives this time around! What an improvement!