|
OK, just talked to an air traffic controller friend of mine. He explained that it has to do with flow control of arrivals into big busy airports. He claims that special flow controllers contact controllers at airports where flights are preparing to depart. These flow controllers assign a "wheels up" time to certain flights. This is to help reduce holding in the air at the destination due to heavy traffic (it is cheaper to hold for spacing on the ground rather than in the air). This assigned takeoff time must be met within two minutes prior to 1 minute after. These flow controlled aircraft are sent to the penalty box where they can be quickly released at their proper time. He also stated that deicing at larger airports is now right near the penalty box which allows these aircraft to be de-iced and still get off the ground at the proper time.
__________________
German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne
0% Liberal
Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing.
|