John Pennekamp said:
I've been watching the chaos here in 'da ATL as this dispute has heated up. I've noticed the increased holding, increased in trail separation, the "inability" to position and hold at certain times. Yes, it's frustrating to some people, but some of us find it funny. They're stickin' it to the Man. If the FAA is too stupid to remember what happened 25 years ago, then they may be doomed to repeat history. Back up your controllers or you won't be flying anywhere.
The funny part is that what you mention has pretty much nothing to to with any kind of job action by controllers (Editorial note: Job actions, slowdowns, strikes, etc. are illegal under 5 USC 7120, and are not condoned by omission or commission by NATCA or me!)
Back in March, the FAA in its wisdom placed sudden and severe restrictions on taxi in position and hold (TIPH) operations. Part of the GENOT is reproduced below. At the time, controllers in towers all over the country told the FAA this was going to back traffic up a lot. I suspect, since you specifically mention the inability to do TIPH, that a lot of what you are seeing is the result of restricting TIPH. I am chuckling to myself over this issue, though it's not really funny at all - anything with a negative effect on the NAS offends me personally. But, we told 'em so.
Read John Carr's blog, "
The Main Bang", and search for TIPH for more and better.
GENOT RWA 6/14 SVC B
PLEASE AMEND FAAO 7210.3U AS FOLLOWS: (ADD) PARAGRAPH 10-3-8, TAXI INTO POSITION AND HOLD (TIPH) OPERATIONS
A. THE AT MANAGER MUST DETERMINE AN OPERATIONAL NEED EXISTS BEFORE CONDUCTING TIPH OPERATIONS, TO INCLUDE SUCH FACTORS AS CAPACITY, EFFICIENCY, USER INPUT, ETC.
B. BEFORE AUTHORIZING TIPH OPERATIONS AS SPECIFIED IN FAA ORDER 7110.65, THE AT MANAGER MUST ENSURE THE FOLLOWING:
1. REVIEW THE IMPACT THAT AIRPORT CONFIGURATION AND LOCAL CONDITIONS MAY HAVE ON THE APPLICATION OF TIPH PROCEDURES.
2. PREPARE A FACILITY DIRECTIVE:
(A) PRESCRIBING LOCAL PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING THESE OPERATIONS.
(B) PRESCRIBING METHODS TO ASSIST THE LOCAL CONTROLLER IN MAINTAINING AWARENESS OF AIRCRAFT POSITIONS ON THE AIRPORT. SUCH METHODS MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, READING BACK THE PILOT'S STATED POSITION, ANNOTATING FLIGHT PROGRESS STRIPS, POSTING OR ARRANGING FLIGHT PROGRESS STRIPS ACCORDING TO AIRCRAFT'S INTENDED TAKEOFF POSITION, OR MARKING THE LOCATION OF AIRCRAFT WITH COLOR-CODED CHIPS ON A MAGNETIC DIAGRAM OF THE AIRPORT. REFERENCE FAA ORDER 7210.3, PARAGRAPH 10-1-7, USE OF ACTIVE RUNWAYS
(C) PRESCRIBING THE CONSOLIDATION AND STAFFING OF POSITIONS.
(D) PRESCRIBING THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE SAFETY LOGIC SYSTEM TO OPERATE IN FULL CORE ALERT RUNWAY CONFIGURATION.
3. LOCAL CONTROL POSITION SHALL NOT BE CONSOLIDATED/COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER POSITION. FOR EXAMPLE, LOCAL CONTROL POSITION SHALL NOT BE COMBINED WITH ANOTHER LOCAL POSITION, CIC, LOCAL ASSIST, GROUND CONTROL, CLEARANCE DELIVERY/LFLIGHT DATA, ETC.
4. WHERE THE TOWER ASSOCIATE (LOCAL ASSIST) POSITION OR A LOCAL MONITOR POSITION IS ESTABLISHED, THIS POSITION SHALL BE STAFFED. THIS POSITION IS CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL TO THE OPERATIONAL INTEGRITY AND SAFETY LEVELS REQUIRED TO MINIMIZE THE POTENTIAL FOR SURFACE ERRORS AND LAND- OVER INCIDENTS.
5. SUPERVISOR/CIC POSITION SHALL NOT BE COMINED WITH A CONTROL POSITION.
6. AT THOSE FACILITIES WITH SAFETY LOGIC SYSTEMS, THE SYSTEM SHALL BE OPERATING IN THE FULL CORE ALERT RUNWAY CONFIGURATION.
7. ENSURE WATCH SUPERVISORS/CIC'S REVIEW FAA ORDER 7210.3, PARAGRAPH 2-6-1 A, WATCH SUPERVISION, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON MAINTAINING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND MANAGEMENT OF THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT WITH A GOAL TOWARD ELIMINATING DISTRACTIONS.
C. AT MANAGERS MUST SUBMIT OPERATIONAL NEED FOR TIPH AND FACILITY DIRECTIVE TO THE APPROPRIATE TERMINAL SERVICE UNIT AREA DIRECTOR FOR APPROVAL.
D. TERMINAL SERVICE UNIT AREA DIRECTORS WILL CONDUCT AN ANNUAL REVIEW OF FACILITIES CONDUCTING TIPH OPERATIONS
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