rather British Airways allowed its planes to take off only to end up crashing.... ??????
Everyone is moaning on the news but for God's sake I know which option I'd prefer - being grounded .. and alive!!!
2006-12-20 21:13:09 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ Air Travel
I'm due to be going away in 7 days time but I'll tell you that I don't care if I have to sit at Heathrow til kingdom come if the weather reamins the same. I have insurance so I'll just claim it back. I understand the frustration but those people going to see their families may not get there if they take off in this weather...
2006-12-20 21:45:20 · update #1
I think BA have done the right thing in grounding their planes, if its too dangerous to fly then what else can they do?!
2006-12-20 21:15:59 · answer #1 · answered by lizarddd 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not really that the planes can't take off or land safely: the technology to take off and land in freezing fog has been around for years, and the built-in safety is massively overengineered (as it should be).
But rather, the weather means that the aircraft landing and taking off have to separated by a greater extent, as a failsafe, and to help air and ground control.
The problem is that Heathrow is hugely oversubscribed. Few airports have the density of traffic Heathrow does, let alone with only two usable runways. This means that in any 'Wx' (weather situation), whole swathes of flights are cancelled, which in turn causes a build-up of excessive aircraft on the airfield, which is lacking in parking spaces as it is... This feeds on itself until the airport can grind to a standstill.
Why Heathrow remains so popular, and why efforts to relocate flights to other or new airports in the South East (the location is now completely unsuitable for a major airport, let alone the expansions required) is a mystery to me, but I suspect it has to do with the influence of the high-profile companies that have located themselves along the M4 corridor.
So yes, I do blame BA, indirectly, but more appropriately BAA and successive governments for failing to have the vision either to create a properly scaled airport for the South-East, or to limit slots to the point where weather doesn't have such a drastic effect.
2006-12-20 23:14:55 · answer #2 · answered by hailesaladdie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Someone with common sense where fling on holiday is involved, you are a rarity!
No matter how good people in Aviation or Aerospace are they cannot control the weather! People are always too quick to complain about delays due to weather or faults on the a/c which do happen (just like a car breaking down!) and don't realise that they are delayed for a reason! I wish people would just realise that these delays are for their safety. This is partly down to the EU passenger compensation laws which I think should not have been introduced.
2006-12-20 21:26:32 · answer #3 · answered by ehc11 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am with you on this one. I also get frustrated when I see people complaining about the increased security checks. I would want to know that they took there time and checked everyone prior to getting on a plane I was going to fly on. Most people just don't see it that way. There is a reason why these things are done, its called safety
2006-12-21 03:02:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Planes can fly, take off and land in fog, withh all the navigation and auto pilot systems.
They would be cancelled for two reasons.
Smaller planes without the required equipment.
They also for safety increase the spacing between planes landing and taking off, so some planes need to be cancelled to allow for bigger gaps.
2006-12-20 21:30:12 · answer #5 · answered by maka 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Come on...nature works in mysterious ways, but do we not hear time and time again how 'in the 21st century' Heathrow is, from 'tooled up' policemen (who obviously know the difference between Brazilian plumbers and bona fide terrorists...we hope!) to the 'experience of the watch-tower of the busiest' - or is it in fact second, third...or even 4th busiest - airport in the world.
2006-12-20 21:31:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Surely in this day and age all planes have autopilots and autoland facilities so why on earth are BA cancelling internal flights instead of just running them late or diverting them??
Surely at this time of year when many flights are fully booked a late flight is better than no flight at all.
2006-12-20 22:43:27 · answer #7 · answered by Pit Bull 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Better safe than sorry.I'm surprised the media has not held the government entirely responsible for this as they blame everybody's short fallings on them.Somebody on this site is bound to blame Tony Blair for it.
2006-12-20 21:30:05 · answer #8 · answered by Xtine 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Quite right - but hard luck on all those people who are delayed, especially folks trying to get home for Christmas, or who have a special occasion to attend.
2006-12-20 21:17:20 · answer #9 · answered by mad 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They've done the right thing. But what's happening to all the planes that need to land.
Are they being redirected?
2006-12-20 21:25:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
same here i would rather wait and use the next availble flight beaside what about the other airlines how are they coping
2006-12-20 23:36:42 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋