As an aviation geek, I love listening to air traffic control audio, and always enjoy the VASAviation YouTube channel, which does a great job covering noteworthy air traffic control interactions.
The channel has just uploaded a video involving an interaction between an air traffic controller at New York Kennedy Airport (JFK) and an Aeromexico pilot. The interaction between the two gets heated, but I have a bigger takeaway based on this overall interaction…
In this post:
Aeromexico pilot & JFK air traffic controller get into it
This incident happened at around 2AM on August 25, 2024, at Kennedy Airport. There was a single air traffic controller working delivery, ground, and tower, and he had his hands full, with a lot of parties (frankly) being annoying. I’ll talk more about that in a bit, but first let’s talk about the interaction that’s most noteworthy.
An Aeromexico Boeing 737 MAX 8 with the flight number AM401 was preparing to depart to Mexico City (MEX). While the aircraft was being given taxi clearance, there was a minor misunderstanding, which wasn’t a big deal (but I still think it’s important context, since the Aeromexico pilot is in the wrong here):
ATC: “Aeromexico 401, cross runway 31R at echo, follow the 777 ANA on charlie.”
Pilot: “Okay, cross runway 13R on echo, and follow the heavy on charlie, Aeromexico 401.”
ATC: “It’s not 13R, it’s 31R or 13L.”
Pilot: You said 13R, but it’s 13L, okay.”
ATC: “No, you said 13R, I said ‘cross 31R,’ Aeromexico 401.”
Pilot: “Okay 31R or 13L, Aeromexico 401.”
However, it gets really heated when takeoff clearance is given:
ATC: Aeromexico 401, wind 230 at 7, caution wake turbulence, runway 22R, cleared for takeoff.”
Pilot: “Can we wait one minute, just for caution, Aeromexico 401?”
ATC: “Okay, Aeromexico 401, cancel your instructions and hold short of 22R. For future reference, you have to let me know before you get to the runway, okay? We only use five miles, and the aircraft is already five miles away, and the runway is two miles long. That’s seven miles.”
Pilot: “Hello sir, this is the captain of the Aeromexico. I think you are the one that has to relax cause you are with a very bad mood with everybody. And we are going to wait two more minutes because it’s a heavy. I don’t care if it’s five miles or something. We’re gonna wait two more minutes.”
ATC: “Aeromexico 401, that is your prerogative, but you have to let the ground controller know, in that case me, before you’re at the runway, okay?”
Pilot: “Roger, but just look out your mood, sir.”
ATC: “No. You want a number for the tower, Aeromexico 401?”
Pilot: “No, thank you very much, I don’t want it. I’m just telling you, you are saying us to relax, you have to relax also.”
ATC: “I didn’t say relax, at all, to you. Not a single time, Aeromexico 401. If you’d like the number for the tower, I can give you a number. You want a number to the tower?”
Pilot: “No, thank you very much.”
ATC: “Okay, so don’t key up and say relax to me, alright?”
Pilot: “Okay.”
You can hear the interaction for yourself below.
My take on this ATC disagreement
So, I have a lot of thoughts on this situation. First of all, this air traffic controller is working his rear off, handling delivery, ground, and tower, at one of the world’s busiest airports. Sure, it’s the middle of the night, but the airport also has a fair amount of traffic over those hours. How much stress to put on a single controller.
It’s not just the volume of the traffic that the controller is dealing with that’s overwhelming, but also the lack of precision of the parties he’s dealing with:
- First the Aeromexico pilot incorrectly reads back instructions, which isn’t a huge deal, but the Aeromexico pilot comes across as having an attitude, saying “you said 13R,” when the controller didn’t
- Then the Copa pilot doesn’t do a great job with reading back the clearance instructions
- Listening to the Delta maintenance guy trying to communicate over the radio is B-R-U-T-A-L
- You have the Southern Cargo pilots requesting pushback clearance, when that’s not actually needed
- You have the Korean Air pilots repeatedly requesting clearance prematurely — “Korean that’s calling, you’re calling early, like every night, I have nothing for you, no flight plan”
- Then you have the Southern Cargo pilots responding to the Korean Air pilots, thinking that the Korean pilot is the air traffic controller, or something
Seriously, this dude’s job is stressful enough, and it sure doesn’t help that roughly every other call is either unnecessary or inaccurate. Also, context is important — this guy is a New Yorker, and by New Yorker standards, he actually doesn’t come across as rude to me. Heck, by those (admittedly very low) standards, he almost seems patient.
Lastly, telling any air traffic controller to “relax,” let alone in New York, isn’t ever going to be well received. Like, I’m pretty sure anyone with a spouse can attest to that not being a great strategy.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with the Aeromexico pilot wanting to err on the side of caution and wait a moment for takeoff. He probably should’ve let the controller know earlier, but figured it wasn’t a big issue, since it’s not that busy in the middle of the night. When the controller told him to announce those intentions earlier in the future, he should’ve just said “sorry about that” or “okay,” and moved on with his day, in my opinion.
Bottom line
Air traffic controllers have stressful jobs, and that’s especially true for the guy working the graveyard shift at JFK, as he handles delivery, ground, and tower, all on his own. That’s tough enough under normal circumstances, let alone when so many people on the frequency are making errors.
An Aeromexico pilot decided to tell the controller he should relax, and as you might expect, that wasn’t particularly well received. The interaction ended with the Aeromexico pilot agreeing not to tell the air traffic controller to relax. Lol…
What do you make of this situation, and who do you think is in the right?
I know nothing about air-traffic control or the airline industry... I was brought here by a Facebook post. First of all, as a native New Yorker, I totally get this guy. Sounds like he's doing his job, and doing it well.
But second, this is a labor issue. Why is he working alone? Is this a post-PATCO thing? Are ATCs overworked like this often? Seems like a DOT issue, no?
ATC acts like they have zero responsibility for wake turbulence issues- then get angry when pilots don’t accept their idiotic spacing clearances. Maybe they should use some common sense. 777 taking off and you want a 737 to just follow him in less than a minute?
Really ATC? You want an Alert III that much ?
Why is the control tower understaffed? That is THE BIG problem. Everyone that works in US airports needs to relax, starting with TSA. They should get a training in manners. The air of superiority in US people specially at airports is obnoxious. Why do they think they are superior than everyone else? Have traveled to 160 countries and the rudest people can be found in the USA… starting with waiters and up. Yes, relax take it easy and be courteous of everyone else.
Blame our wonderful Congress. They’re the ones that don’t want to fund anything, including more federal employees
If this New Yorker was working ATC that night, I would have sent them to the penalty box.
I once had a controller ask if I could accept a different intersection departure at ORD on the same runway, which I declined because we hadn’t run performance for that intersection. He replied “It’s actually the intersection that makes the takeoff longer, but OK.” Here’s the point. I could have accepted the clearance because I’d already run a more restricted takeoff, but technically I wasn’t supposed to because I hadn’t run that exact intersection. Runway...
I once had a controller ask if I could accept a different intersection departure at ORD on the same runway, which I declined because we hadn’t run performance for that intersection. He replied “It’s actually the intersection that makes the takeoff longer, but OK.” Here’s the point. I could have accepted the clearance because I’d already run a more restricted takeoff, but technically I wasn’t supposed to because I hadn’t run that exact intersection. Runway 13 and 31 are the same physical space and there’s only one way a jet parked at an intersection can cross moving to the taxiway he read back. Technically, the controller was right but the argument is meaningless in this specific situation. Like knowing that TSA is wrong but gritting your teeth and doing what they say anyway, it doesn’t pay to argue with ATC.
Whether you're a private or ATP pilot, when the controller asks you if you want the Tower number - you should know immediately that you're about to be called on the carpet for doing something wrong.
The AM pilot continued to foolishly argue, and if I were the controller, I probably would have kept him there another 40 minutes! What a jerk!
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes! Actually, the pilot got off lucky IMO.
If ATC guy can’t handle the pressure of working alone… and dealing with many non native english speaking people, then he should not be working at one of the busiest airports in the world, transfer him to a less crowded airport… He should never have said relax to everybody in the frequency in the first place, pilots are not responsible for his bad luck or whatever is happening to him….
I would partially blame bureaucracy for this. There is no way that staffing JFK with one controller will ever make sense at any time of the day. Additionally, the FAA needs to adopt ICAO phraseology and procedures. This has a huge part of the problem. If there were more controllers, they could speak slower and more deliberately.
It reminds me of when I came home from work and a very busy day. I started giving instructions to the kids… my wife then said “ stop trying to control them … they are not airplanes. The explanation Roger gave
The ATC needs a chill pill.
If you want to operate at the world's busiest airports you need to be on top of your game. And yes the Captain has every right to ask for a delayed takeoff, but by not notifying the tower prior to getting to the runway he just made the controllers job more difficult.
Aeromexico was alarmingly unprofessional in his interactions, I doubt he would act the same way in MMMX. ATC frequencies are not the place to get snippy.
My first thought is why there is a SINGLE air traffic controller on duty at one of the world's busiest airports? Who would be his/her backup if they fell ill, etc.?
The Aeromexico pilot was out of line with the relax statement to the controller. The controller was right to repeat the instructions back to him and to make sure that he was understood. The skies are not always friendly (why wind, weather is given) ---- neither are the passengers or air personnel.
yes it's true...JFK LGA EWR IAD blah blah blah....usually have only one person in the tower cab late at night (or early morn). I worked Freight out out here in the middle of the night, for years and got to know several of these controllers as friends. FAA needs more staff! They have had this "problem" for years. everyone is exhausted on these "shifts". Pilots and controllers.
Lol why did you use a pic of a LATAM aircraft with this blog post, Lucky??
He replied below
Perhaps JFK should not be staffed with one controller period.
I can't believe there's only one controller in the tower at JFK and he's working all 3 positions. I was at a level 3 tower and we always had 2 controllers on duty for the mids even though we never had more than 5 overnight flights.
My guess there were 2 controllers on duty in the tower and one was sleeping at 2am.
The ATC guy did tell everyone to "just relax" (at 5:20). And I assume that all involved heard it. If I were the AM pilots, I would've taken it to mean me too. I can't stand excuses like "he's from New York, that's how people talk." Well, he's not dealing with people from New York. From my calculations, he was dealing with folks from Mexico, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and the US. In many of...
The ATC guy did tell everyone to "just relax" (at 5:20). And I assume that all involved heard it. If I were the AM pilots, I would've taken it to mean me too. I can't stand excuses like "he's from New York, that's how people talk." Well, he's not dealing with people from New York. From my calculations, he was dealing with folks from Mexico, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and the US. In many of those societies, the ATC's tone and choice of words would be seen as dismissive and rude. If he's going to work a large international airport, he needs to learn how to deal with people in a way that does not come off as condescending. I'd tell him to calm down too!
If you’re too inexperienced to deal with ATC in NYC airspace then don’t fly there.
Having work at LAX for 20 years and lots of miss. It does get hectic when you’re down to one controller during certain hours in the morning. if we didn’t correct on which runways were crossing specifically things could go wrong quickly. That’s why it’s critical for us to make sure that read backs are correct . Just let the controller know prior to getting up to the runway, you want minutes not miles ,based on your A/C.
So, JFK has only one person in the tower cab at 0200? That person melts down and passes out. Then what the hell are you supposed to do? So the Aeromexico guy wants a little space for wake avoidance and he mis-spoke the heading of the runway. It's not really the controller's fault that the FAA is so cheap (and stupid) to leave ONE person in the tower. Talk about runway incursions?
Is there more than one controller in the tower - but only one is on duty at this time? The "what ifs?" should be of concern if the lone controller monitoring all 3 freqs should have a medical emergency.
Thanks for the insight and sharing things from ATC's perspective. Definitely no fault with the guy who continued to be professional even when being wrongly told to "chill".
I'll look forward to your commentary Wednesday since VASAviation released a 9 minute recording of the same ATC employee showing he was perfectly doing his job. Don't get sucked into this kind of nonsense in future
[QUOTE]
Like, I’m pretty sure anyone with a spouse can attest to that not being a great strategy.
[/QUOTE]
“One marital advice at a time” coming to a blog soon…
Mexican A-Hole
Racist.
That’s no more racist than saying American A-hole…..relax!
"First the Aeromexico pilot incorrectly reads back instructions, which isn’t a huge deal,"
Ben it is a HUGE deal. It can be the start of a chain that leads to an accident. That is why the controller corrects the pilot immediately.
Trust me. It is a BIG deal.
-Former ATC
I respectfully disagree, without experience. Isn't requiring repeating instructions back in place for EXACTLY this purpose? Anything can be misheard over the radio. It's repeated back and caught right there if there is a mistake. Seems to me it worked as intended.
It’s neither the pilot’s fault nor their responsibility that JFK, one of the busiest airports in the world, has one controller working 3 frequencies.
JFK has a ton of international traffic, especially at night, so there are going to be miscommunications, goes with the territory. Patience is required and generally NYC controllers don’t have much.
Having said that, and I’m sure the controller was getting frustrated and annoyed, Aeromexico would have been better...
It’s neither the pilot’s fault nor their responsibility that JFK, one of the busiest airports in the world, has one controller working 3 frequencies.
JFK has a ton of international traffic, especially at night, so there are going to be miscommunications, goes with the territory. Patience is required and generally NYC controllers don’t have much.
Having said that, and I’m sure the controller was getting frustrated and annoyed, Aeromexico would have been better off just saying “sorry” and get the hell outta dodge.
The Aeromexico pilot may have read the taxi instructions wrong, that's why the pilots are trained to clarify any misunderstanding, to avoid an incident. As for the pilot requesting to delay the takeoff. The pilot is the one uncharted of his airplane and if he request to delay the takeoff he needs to be granted his request, furthermore ground control does not control the runway the tower does, so his request to the tower is correct.
Untill you seat on the HOT SEAT , you have no idea how it’s feels
The controller did say to relax earlier but he said to everyone on the frequency, not specifically to aero mexico
True. Rude or not, the controller was assertive and self-assured. These qualities are characteristic of New Yorkers, and tend to come off as rude unless tempered by a pleasant tone, which the New York accent isn't.
ATC SHOULD HAVE MADE HIM WAIT.....
Typically it's the pilots that cause controllers grief. The absolute worst ones are American Airlines and corporate pilots. Corporate are the biggest jerks on the radio. Look at me, I'm so entitled flying a Gulfstream. During my 32 year career we had more fun jacking the assholes around because of there entitled attitude.
I think the focus of the article is wrong. This is a safety issue, not who is right or wrong.
For example, I worked in IT, and our company had a rule - no one alone in the data center. You always had to have a second person, even if they had nothing to do. Why? Safety. What if you have a heart attack or are injured? It's so noisy in there, no one...
I think the focus of the article is wrong. This is a safety issue, not who is right or wrong.
For example, I worked in IT, and our company had a rule - no one alone in the data center. You always had to have a second person, even if they had nothing to do. Why? Safety. What if you have a heart attack or are injured? It's so noisy in there, no one will hear you call for help.
Sure, it's 2AM, but it's JFK, which can be very busy, even in the early morning hours.
What if the controller has a heart attack?
Then what?
The ATC is doing the job of three people, and clearly there was enough traffic to justify another body? Was there someone else there? On break? Shouldn't you pitch in to get through the "traffic jam" then go on break? If it's just the one person, and there is a staffing shortage, then our government is dropping the ball because this is a safety issue.
Whether or not the pilot or ATC is right is inconsequential compared to the potential safety risk.
There's definitely some level of burying the lede here. We can debate at length about demeanor, but there 100% ought to be more than 1 person working ATC in a situation like this.
Absolutely.
Very good analysis of the situation, however I would add (for those of you that don’t know), when a controller on the mid is working by himself, frequencies for local, ground and clearance are not always combined so he is hearing pilots, ground vehicles,etc sometimes simultaneously which causes a added workload.
The bottom line is that the Aeromexico pilot gave a bad runway read back on initial and then argued that he was given...
Very good analysis of the situation, however I would add (for those of you that don’t know), when a controller on the mid is working by himself, frequencies for local, ground and clearance are not always combined so he is hearing pilots, ground vehicles,etc sometimes simultaneously which causes a added workload.
The bottom line is that the Aeromexico pilot gave a bad runway read back on initial and then argued that he was given something he was not. And yes, despite previous comments this IS a big deal.
Okay, it's a big deal, but I've heard it happen before. Tower de-escalates the situation by putting a lid on it. I said XX, you assert you heard YY, well I assert I really said XX. We can go back to the tapes later. That's how (a fellow NY ATC) handled a previous incarnation of this situation.
In this article, I forgot to say the main point which is the pilot accused ATC of telling him to relax. ATC never told him to relax
He did, earlier, to everyone on frequency.
I'm not exactly a nervous flyer, but the ATC comms at JFK sure do stoke my anxiety about using that airport. So many foreign carriers with pilots for whom English as a second language. So much movement 24h a day. Somehow it all works, but seems like a recipe for incursions, etc. Just in this example, there's an aircraft 5 miles out from the runway where AeroMexico is now sitting (instead of holding short), and...
I'm not exactly a nervous flyer, but the ATC comms at JFK sure do stoke my anxiety about using that airport. So many foreign carriers with pilots for whom English as a second language. So much movement 24h a day. Somehow it all works, but seems like a recipe for incursions, etc. Just in this example, there's an aircraft 5 miles out from the runway where AeroMexico is now sitting (instead of holding short), and the AeroMexico pilot is wasting the controller's time when he could be calling for the inbound aircraft to go around. Seems like an inordinately riskier environment than say, ATL, which is even busier but mostly utilized by the same airline.
Not sure it was an *inbound* aircraft 5 miles out. I think 5 miles refers to how far the departing ANA159 (with their new business class ) is from the runway. Hence the 7 miles separation mentioned by the ATC - 5 miles from the end of a 2-mile long runway.
Got it. Thanks.
I’m embarrassed for you. Not only are you wasting your time listening to useless arguments, you’re also taking the time to editorialize said chatter. I read the headline, and skipped right to the comment section. Why waste one’s time with such pithy topics? I need to block OMAAT from my Google feed.
@ Chris -- I'm curious, do you comment on all things on the internet you don't find interesting and don't read about, or just this post?
@ Ben-- Sorry I'm answering you so late. Mom said I had to finish cutting the lawn or I wont get my allowance. So yeah, I do comment on things that aren't interesting when I'm bored. Which is kinda alot.
Well, gotta go. Have to study for my final exam. They cram alot of stuff at ya in summer school. Can they keep me from graduating if I fail gym again?
I'm pretty sure if we dissect your life there are many things you do that others find useless. Guarantee it in fact. Statistically impossible to avoid.
Okay, but why is there a latam plane on the thumbnail if its an aeromexico story?
AM401, Sierra Tango Foxtrot Uniform.
Controller is a champ. Sounds like amateur hour at JFK and he's the only one holding things together preventing chaos.
And if this is related to Aeromexico, why did you include a picture of a LATAM flight on the header?
@ JD -- I included a picture of the apron at JFK, which is where this incident took place. I'm sorry, I don't specifically have a picture of an Aeromexico 737 MAX 8 holding short of a runway at JFK at 2AM, or else I would have used that...
Lucky if you don't have a picture of an Aeromexico 737 MAX 8 holding short of a runway at JFK at 2AM why do I even visit this website
DALL-E could assist in that!
no this is such a lazy excuse, you just have no respect for Mexico or its airlines, you only write negative pieces about Mexico and when good things happen down in Mexico you ignore it while everyone else covers it.
Relax bro
I think you are the one that has to relax!!
Honestly, as much as I understand the pressure the controller has to deal with and even though he is definitely not the rudest JFK controller ever, he is still rude by most people's standards. He did say to the cargo and the Korean pilots to relax and it's definitely not his job to remind a pilot what the standard phraseology is when communicating with the tower. The Aeromexico crew may have been unprofessional for not...
Honestly, as much as I understand the pressure the controller has to deal with and even though he is definitely not the rudest JFK controller ever, he is still rude by most people's standards. He did say to the cargo and the Korean pilots to relax and it's definitely not his job to remind a pilot what the standard phraseology is when communicating with the tower. The Aeromexico crew may have been unprofessional for not letting know the controller of their intentions on time, but imo the controller's attitude is unprofessional too.
He did kinda say "relax' to AeroMexico when he told everyone on the frequencies to relax. That being said, the controller really seemed to have things handled and was on top of what I assume are a lot of complicated instructions and procedures. He was trying to be as clear and forthcoming as possible with everyone he was communicating with. The AeroMexico pilots had nothing to be offended about with ATC interactions with them, imo.
It is no excuse to be rude even if you are overloaded with your work. It is a tendancy that I myself have experienced in the United States and does not happen in Europe. I think it is that the Americans cannot imagine the effort a pilot makes to speak and understand a language that is not his own and pronounced as it is in the United States. The spanish speaking pilot might have said...
It is no excuse to be rude even if you are overloaded with your work. It is a tendancy that I myself have experienced in the United States and does not happen in Europe. I think it is that the Americans cannot imagine the effort a pilot makes to speak and understand a language that is not his own and pronounced as it is in the United States. The spanish speaking pilot might have said 13R as a question? or if if it were a mistake, there is no need to scold him like a school boy.
That wasn’t rude….That wasn’t even a JFK controller in a bad mood
The Spanish speaking pilot, as you call him, clearly didn't say it as a question. It was a statement. The controller corrected him, as required, and further elaborated it's 31R or 17L. The Aeromexico pilot then came back and said You said 13R, rather than just reading back and accepting the correction. So there was no innocent questioning as you imply. Rather there was an arrogance... I'm right and you're wrong, and wrong for correcting...
The Spanish speaking pilot, as you call him, clearly didn't say it as a question. It was a statement. The controller corrected him, as required, and further elaborated it's 31R or 17L. The Aeromexico pilot then came back and said You said 13R, rather than just reading back and accepting the correction. So there was no innocent questioning as you imply. Rather there was an arrogance... I'm right and you're wrong, and wrong for correcting me. So who exactly began the rudeness? I suspect you may have not listened to the entire tape. There are erroneous readbacks everyday, some the fault of the controllers initial clearance,many more just erroneous readbacks. Just correct, clarify, and move on for safety's sake. It's not a matter of who is right and who is wrong.
The controller did tell the whole frequency to relax, but in context wasn't talking to the Aeromex pilot then.
He did come across as slightly annoyed or rude, but again, as many have said that's just being a New Yorker. Doesn't make it right, but has to be accepted as such. They can't change their accent or while way of living .
31R/13L not 17L. Sorry typo.
How is it that only one controller is handling all this by himself? Seems like it’s an accident waiting to happen.
Why is it so hard for new yorkers to be polite? At JFK, all the time you get angry staff yelling, just because you exist. as a customer I don't care if it is a NY thing or not, but the service is horrible.
NYC ATC has NOTHING compared to the US contracted ATC controller who worked Kabul high over Afghanistan a decade ago...they guy would yell at EVERYBODY!
Why is it ALWAYS JFK lol
It is one of the largest airports with diverse international traffic, so the circumstances are ripe for cultural clashes, especially since NYC as a culture is famously "assertive" to put it politely.
I feel bad for this ATC guy, dealing with idiots all alone at 2am. Everyone messing up readbacks and he’s doing as good as job as possible, then some guy tells him to relax lol.
I wonder why this always happens in US not somewhere in Europe. We have busy airport over here as well but American ATC controllers seem to loose it much more often.
He didn’t lose it. He was trying to be polite, but the AM pilots lost their cool.
You fly into Frankfurt very often?
It happens just as often in Europe. Don't kid yourself.
Emily Post was a New Yorker. The standards of etiquette are not any lower, it’s just that fewer people meet them. That means you can get away with being rude, as people have resigned to tolerate it. That doesn’t make rude behavior not rude.
Rudeness is geography agnostic. That’s why...
Emily Post was a New Yorker. The standards of etiquette are not any lower, it’s just that fewer people meet them. That means you can get away with being rude, as people have resigned to tolerate it. That doesn’t make rude behavior not rude.
Rudeness is geography agnostic. That’s why we all say places like Japan are incredibly polite. Nobody ever says New York is incredibly polite.
I grew up in TX, he didn’t come across as rude to me either, but effective. He came across as a guy doing a really tough stressful job. I actually appreciate directness, having to ‘sugar coat’ everything leads to confusing and is a waste of time, which this guy doesn’t have. And if you’re not interested in the content, then don’t read it.
He didn't come across as rude to you because you yourself come across as rude, whether or not you are aware of it. Growing up in Texas does not make you not rude.
How do y'all get that 'quote' graphic to appear in your comments?
Agree ATC did a fine job here. Patient, if anything.
Understood that the video editing makes things seem more hectic than perhaps they were, but having just one controller running everything at an airport like JFK at any hour seems generally unadvisable...
Because of the stress of that job at JFK (and likely other big, busy airports) instructions are quick and curt because there's no time to be "folksy." And pilots should understand that fact.
That Delta maintenance worker (presumably towing a/c on a super tug) was absolutely scary. The idea that someone could be that clueless to the airport and it's operations tugging around a plane.
No wonder these controllers have no patience.
ATC is always right (unless they are wrong ) but because they are in charge you may nicely correct them and make them more right! This ATC should be applauded for his patience.
I’ve been listening to JFK and LGA area ATC for years and agree with Ben the controller is hardly rude. I can only imagine how infamous JFK controller Kennedy Steve would have handled DL maintenance. Probably would’ve brought the poor soul to tears! That said, I think it’s very unsafe to have just one controller on duty at an airport like JFK, even if it was 2 AM.
100% agree; we have to fix the ATC situation to where we get enough folks in the pipeline that stretching this thin isn't necessary. Raise wages, recruit where we haven't before, fast-track visas, and again, RAISE WAGES. I've got a lot of faith in commercial aviation but this thing where we overburden ATCs really sketches me out.
The air controller told someone else to relax earlier on in the video, so when the aeromexico said ‘you told us to relax’ i think he meant ‘us’ in the general sense and not his plane itself. Lost in translation. But also obviously uncalled for on the part of the pilot.
Wow! Ben update your identifiey planes post
I wrote a comment about something wrong. it starts with *****WARNING***
@edward Johnson
You need to call down and relax.