A retired United Airlines pilot has some serious safety concerns regarding a busy airport in New Jersey ... and he's got a message for the federal government.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00The system is archaic. Newark is a mess. Is it safe to fly in and out of Newark? What do you
00:10think about all of this? At best, I would say it's marginally safe to go in there under the
00:15conditions they're operating on. The weather's been bad on the East Coast, number one. They are
00:21doing construction and during a number of hours during the day or all day, I'm not sure, one of
00:29the runways, one of the primary runways is closed, which adds stress to the overall system.
00:37The air traffic control staffing is people in the tower and approach controls. They are understaffed
00:46there. And they're obviously listening to the news reports. They're overstressed. It is not a good
00:54situation. Sadly, it started a long time ago and nothing has been done about it. And it's
01:05indicative of a lot of other places also, I think, in the system. I think Washington National falls
01:10into that category of being a place I really wouldn't be happy going into. The pilot group
01:16would report incidents of safety problems. I think they can complain about it. But the lack of
01:27air traffic control system and investment in the air traffic control system is long overdue. And it
01:34should have been taken care of years ago. I still have faith in the system. I'm flying on a trip next
01:41month as a passenger. I hope things get better. But I know our government is trying to cut costs. But in
01:49this area of air traffic control and improved technology, they need to spend a little extra
01:55money and get the system back to where it was.