Exodus from PHX Area After Super Bowl

[johnsonrod]

So, how did the exodus of flights go after the Super Bowl? For those of you who were there, can you share any highlights from the mass exodus? Did the Phoenix area airports (PHX, SDL, GEU, IWA, DVT, etc.) perform well? Any serious or unexpected delays? Did PHX ATC do a good job or were things backed up pretty bad? Was this an orderly "evacuation" compared to other huge sporting events in years past? The combo of the Super Bowl and the Phoenix Open golf tournament on the same weekend had to make this weekend unprecedented in terms of biz aviation traffic...

I wasn't there but I can imagine the mess on both the ground and in the air... I am sure the bigger operators like Netjets, etc. were pretty well coordinated on the ground to ensure that all pax got to their respective airplanes, etc.

I am sure the Giants fans were even more excitable than ever after the win (and the opposite for the Pats fans). I am betting some pilots got some pretty nice tips from the Giants fans...

 

[Princedietrich]

If it was anything like Cleveland back in September of 99, it would have been a nightmare. The Indians were in the playoffs and it was opening day for the reincarnated Browns. Definitely a bad day to be a ramprat, and not a single tip from anyone.

 

[tk855]

It was absolutely nuts!!! I personally think that PHX atc dropped the ball. They weren't using PDC, so it was a free-for-all on clearance delivery. Gate hold freq was just as big of mess, they were instructing crews to start engines and then when they called back for taxi, they were instructed it would be at least another 20 mins to taxi. Tower and departure seemed to do a good job. I didn't catch what the reason was for not using PDC, but it was a big mistake.

 

[Greaseman]

Been on the ground in here SDL for 5 hours in a "gate hold que". Unbelievable cluster----.

 

[FLYLOW22]

Came through PHX twice yesterday.

NetJets had a great operation set up. Ground control was professional. Swift Aviation was great.

The City of PHX was as helpful as a pile of rocks. They were supposed to transition planes from the D taxiway to the North Swift Ramp from the Ground controller in vans. These guys were NOT all that helpful and there was NO communication with them. We spent 2 hours on a ramp in our plane with an engine running (no APU) waiting to see who was on first.

NO PDC. NO ATIS.

I think that next year, it would go even better if:

a) The City of PHX got a clue
b) The City of PHX stayed out of it all together
c) If the City of PHX had to be involved, they used a ramp controller with designated spot numbers to control traffic flow.

Also, it seemed that there were a number of airplanes that were on the ramp not crewed, much less powered on. The electric tugs ran out of juice. The gas tug overheated. These dead planes took up alot of space.

A remote location to park uncrewed planes would be VERY useful too.

Everyone at PHX ATC, Swift and NetJets had a great attitude and I think that all in all the entire event was a success.

Lots of hard work on many peoples part. Kudos!

 

[solpilot]

Departed GEU after the game...nightmare

Called for clearance and a short 4 1/2 hours later we were in the air. Pax were not happy. On a good note the FBO was a great facility and the ground crew did an amazing job.

 

[johnsonrod]

Was a situation where the FBOs/airports were just not prepared or were they instead overwhelmed by more traffic than anticipated? You'd think that all of the FBOs would have had extra gear and personnel given that these events had been planned so long in advance...

Can't imagine being a Patriots fan who had to endure both a crushing loss as well as a 4 hour wait last night! That would be salt in the wounds....

 

[FastJP4]

Sounds like we must have been fortunate, with the exception of the gate hold freq being a cluster (%&^!@$@^!!. Took 20 minutes to get an engine start time - started engines 5 minutes before said time - and gate called us on time and off we went to ground. All said, about an hour and ten minutes from getting clearance to taxiing. Not too bad all things considered. This was at Sky Harbor.

 

[Publishers]

The basics are that everyone that has arrived over the preceding week are leaving at one time. There really is no way that this operation is ever going to be quick Having run this in Miami, I can tell you that like your local highway at rush time, there is no easy answer.

 

[imacdog]

Departed GEU after the game...nightmare

Called for clearance and a short 4 1/2 hours later we were in the air. Pax were not happy. On a good note the FBO was a great facility and the ground crew did an amazing job.

What did they expect? :laugh: