Missing Pilots and Tired Airline Staff Leave WA Residents Afraid to Fly

Lots of people traveled over the holiday, Memorial Day Weekend. Hopefully, everyone made it home safely and within a day or two of their planned arrival.

You may have noticed long delays, cancelled flights, lost luggage, or other issues if you traveled this past weekend.

Airlines across the board are suffering from shortfalls:

Outdated infrastructure is prone to outages and failures, which can cause significant disruptions and delays, as seen recently at Newark Liberty International Airport.

And, I've heard the US air traffic control system is currently facing challenges related to staffing shortages and outdated infrastructure, prompting calls for urgent modernization and investment to ensure safety and efficiency in air travel. 

With any luck, the shortfalls and issues will be short-lived, and we will see some updated equipment soon and some more secure funding to make sure the airlines are staffed properly.

However, it takes years to train and certify new controllers and airline staff.

I recently had a flight that got delayed because we didn't have a pilot! He had 'timed out' and they had to search for a pilot to fly our plane while we anxiously waited in the airport for hours and then on the tarmac for what seemed like an eternity!

I kept thinking...Didn't they see this coming and have other pilots ready?

I was scheduled to arrive at 10:55 PM but didn't make it till almost 3 AM the following morning.

I suppose when weather issues arise or other problems, it delays flights and the pilots that are already in short supply are forced to work longer shifts, and so they 'time out' (which I'd rather see than a pilot flying us and falling asleep) But it makes it terrible to have to endure as well as messes with accomodations and rides to and from airport etc.

I know it takes years to learn to pilot commercial aircraft, so I guess we need to get more young people interested in becoming pilots, huh? If we want to be able to fly to our far-off destinations in the future!

Of course, before long, we all might be flying our own personal aircraft. Who knows, or maybe we will have AI pilots or unmanned planes like the cars that are now available. Then they wouldn't have to eat or sleep! That would be convenient, I'm just sayin'!

I'm sure all this will be rectified at some point in the not-too-distant future, and we will be back to being spoiled with many travel options and exotic vacations to enjoy!

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