>> WE HAVE MORE UNRELATED TO THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION BUT MOST
CERTAINLY RELATED TO PRACTICALLY
EVERYBODY AROUND THE COUNTRY.
ON AIR TRAVEL IN THE BUSIEST
PART OF THIS COUNTRY, TOM
COSTELLO COVERS AVIATION.
WHAT’S UP?
WHAT’S UP? >> WE’RE TALKING ABOUT NEW YORK
LA GUARDIA AND SPECIFICALLY THE
REASONS ARE FOR AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROL STAFFING.
CONTROL STAFFING. SPECIFICALLY I’M GOING TO HAVE
TO READ OFF THE COMPUTERS AND
OFF MY E-MAIL RIGHT NOW.
BUT THE FAA NOW REPORTING THERE
IS A TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
IN EFFECT AT LA GUARDIA CAUSING
SOME ARRIVING FLIGHTS TO BE
DELAYED AN AVERAGE OF 41
MINUTES, ARRIVING FLIGHTS
DELAYED AN AVERAGE OF 41
MINUTES.
MINUTES. GENERAL AVIATION EXPERIENCING
DELAYS.
DELAYS. HERE’S THE REASON FROM THE FAA.
WE’VE EXPERIENCED A SLIGHT
INCREASE IN SICK LEAVE AT TWO
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL FACILITIES
AFFECTING NEW YORK AND FLORIDA
AND WITH OVERSEVERE STORMS WE’LL
MATCH AVAILABLE CONTROLLER
RESOURCES.
RESOURCES. WE HAVE MITIGATED THE PROBLEM BY
REROUTING TRAFFIC.
REROUTING TRAFFIC. WE BELIEVE OUT OF -- SOME OF
THAT WILL NOT BE GOING OUT OVER
THE OCEAN.
THE OCEAN. AND INCREASING SPACING BETWEEN
AIRCRAFT AS NEEDED.
RESULTS HAVE BEEN MINIMAL
IMPACTS TO EFFICIENCY WHILE
MAINTAINING CONSISTENT LEVELS OF
SAFETY.
SAFETY. THE CONTEXT HERE, YOU MAY RECALL
TODAY IS NOW THE SECOND MISSED
FEDERAL PAYCHECK AND AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROLLERS, 10,500 OF THEM,
YESTERDAY, THEIR UNION WARNED
THE CONTROLLERS WERE NOT ONLY
WORKING THEIR TYPICAL TEN-HOUR
SIX-DAY A WEEK JOB.
CAN I IMPEMPHASIZE THAT AGAIN?
TEN HOURS, SIX DAYS A WEEK
BEFORE THE SHUTDOWN.
AND NOW ACCORDING TO THE UNION,
THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT HOW ARE
THEY GOING TO PAY THE RENT, THE
MORTGAGE, THE KIDS’ BRACES,
COLLEGE TUITION.
COLLEGE TUITION. YOU NAME IT.
EVERY SINGLE ITEM WE’VE
DISCUSSED FOR WEEKS NOW, AND SO
SOME CONTROLLERS ARE TAKING
SECOND JOBS.
SECOND JOBS. DRIVING UBER CARS.
SOME OF THEM WAITING TABLES
AFTER THEIR TEN-HOUR SHIFT, AND
THEN THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO SHOW UP
TO WORK THE NEXT MORNING AND
WORK FOR FREE.
AT LEAST WORK FOR A DEFERRED
PAYCHECK.
PAYCHECK. ALL ALONG THE WARNING HAS BEEN
SOME CONTROLLERS MAY NOT BE ABLE
TO HANDLE THAT KIND OF STRESS,
AND -- DO YOU WANT A CONTROLLER
IN THE TOWER OR HAD A FACILITY
DISTRACTED AND DISTRESSED?
AND SOME OF THEM MAY SIMPLY
DECIDE THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO DO
THIS ANYMORE.
THIS ANYMORE. UBER IS GOING TO PAY THEM AND
THE FAA MAY NOT.
AT LEAST NOT IMMEDIATELY.
AND SO WE NOW MAY BE SEEING THE
FIRST SIGNS OF HOW THIS IS
RIPPLEING ACROSS AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROL.
CONTROL. UNTIL NOW THE FAA HAS SAID WE
HAVE NOT SEEN AN INCREASE IN
CALOUTCAL
CALOUTCAL CALLOUTS AT CONTROL TOWERS, BUT
RIGHT NOW THERE’S AN ISSUE AT LA
GUARDIA.
GUARDIA. >> WAS THIS BASED ON YOUR
REPORTING OR WHAT YOU KNOW OF
THIS, A COORDINATED CALLOUT, DO
YOU KNOW?
YOU KNOW? IS THIS JUST COINCIDENCE THAT
IT’S HAPPENING TODAY ON THE DAY
WHEN THESE FOLKS ARE MISSING
THEIR SECOND PAYCHECK?
>> WE DON’T KNOW WHETHER THIS IS
COORDINATED.
COORDINATED. WE NEED TO FIND THAT OUT.
I WILL TELL YOU UP UNTIL NOW THE
UNIONS FOR THE AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROLLERS AND THE TSA HAVE
URGED THEIR EMPLOYEES OR UNION
MEMBERS DO NOT STRIKE.
BECAUSE THEY RISK GETTING FIRED,
AND THEY RISK PUTTING THEIR OWN
PENSIONS IN SOME CASES COULD BE
DECADES’ WORTH OF A PENSION AT
RISK.
RISK. AND SO UP UNTIL NOW THAT’S BEEN
THE OFFICIAL LINE.
>> GIVE ME THE CONSUMER
PERSPECTIVE HERE.
PERSPECTIVE HERE. IF YOU HAVE TO FLY SOMEWHERE
TODAY AND IT’S IN OR OUT OF NEW
YORK OR THE REGION, WHAT’S THE
ADVICE?
ADVICE? >> I THINK THIS -- MY OWN
OPINION IS WE COULD BE STARTING
TO SEE THE TIPPING POINT HERE.
IF IT’S NOT COORDINATED, BUT
SOME CONTROLLERS MAY BE SAYING I
HAVE TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE THAT
PAYS MY BILLS IMMEDIATELY.
AS A RESULT, THIS MAY INCREASE
AROUND THE COUNTRY.
WE HAVE ABOUT A 7 1/2 PERCENT
CALLOUT RATE FOR THE TSA EVERY
DAY.
DAY. SOME CHECK POINTS HAVE BEEN SHUT
DOWN FROM THAT.
THAT’S EXPECTED TO INCREASE THE
LONGER THIS GOES ON.
AND WE’VE HAD NOW THE CEOS OF
THE MAJOR AIRLINES IN THIS
COUNTRY, AMERICAN, DELTA, JET
BLUE, SOUTHWEST ALL SAYING THIS
IS COSTING THEM BUSINESS AND
IT’S HURTING THE ECONOMY AND IN