An exclusive report by the New York Post claims that on Monday evening between 18:30 to 21:30, flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) were handled by just one air traffic controller and a trainee. The report quotes a New York-based controller describing the situation as “pure insanity.” It also noted that an FAA spokesperson said that there were at least three controllers scheduled for each hour on Monday night but did not clarify how many of them were fully certified personnel.
The New York Times reported something similar, adding that four people familiar with the situation said that the number of fully certified controllers on duty to manage Newark’s air traffic was sometimes one or two. These figures are shocking because the target number of controllers for Newark to manage traffic in those hours is around 14-15.
The thing is it’s not Trump. Or more precisely it’s not only Trump. This shit started with Reagan. He decided to break the air traffic controller Union and in doing so he inexorably steered us down this path of chaos with our airplanes and airports. Trump is only the most recent president to throw gasoline on this particular fire. Biden did too so did Obama so did Bush.
The thing about Trump though is that he’s setting up even more situations that are going to be exactly like this with all the other agencies he’s trying to de-unionize.