this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2025
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[–] thecaptaintrout@lemmy.zip 133 points 9 hours ago (9 children)

The training and requirements to be an ATC are insane, in a extremely thorough way. I highly doubt the Republican administration would be able to find competent replacements among their 'patriots'.

That said, I doubt further that they would actually care and not just tell people to eat cake, or just privatize the ATC network to some billionaire.

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 hours ago

Knowing Trump, he thinks the job is just standing there waving your arms at random

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 54 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

They can pull up some people from the military who run ATC on bases. Those bases don't have anywhere near the traffic levels that large commercial hubs do, but they might be able to move people around and fill in capacity at smaller airports.

That said, the shutdown is only accelerating issues that have been there since Reagan fired the striking ATC workers. Trump can bloviate about "TRUE PATRIOTS" all he wants. Patriotism can't direct a plane to the right runway. There's a certain level of reality that gets in the way. Ending the shutdown won't change the long term trends. Doing the same plan a second time would only end in disaster. It barely worked the first time; it's what put us on this long term downwards cycle on the whole ATC system.

[–] macaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Combat controllers. They served after the Haitian earthquake, directing some 200 flights per day into Port-au-Prince. But they are specialized to work in austere environments. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/117884/combat-controllers-crucial-to-haiti-earthquake-relief/

[–] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 27 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

ATL does over 500 per hour at peak times, and averages 200/hr.

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 24 points 8 hours ago

200 flights per day are what Chicago Midway does. Chicago O'Hare does 10 times that much.

Combat controllers can only go so far.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 7 points 5 hours ago

just privatize the ATC network to some billionaire.

Didn’t Musk try to steal the FAA code for one of his toilet companies to “rewrite”? I thought that was a headline from the past year.

[–] Dragomus@lemmy.world 22 points 7 hours ago

Competent is the word here ... I have the feeling his current administration replaced 70% of competent people with folks totally unfit for the job.
Examples are FBI's Patel, or "Mr Health" Kennedy, and the expired Newshost leading the War department...

So I can easily see the experienced air controllers be replaced by some interns sifted out from some other departments, slap a week of training on them and airports are good to go.

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 37 points 9 hours ago

If they privatize it then it's even easier to strike as they will no longer be held to government standards.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 26 points 8 hours ago

These people aren't getting paid, he wants them to do slave labor. It costs money to go to work and it's a stressful job anyway.

He has people who change his diapers.

NO KINGS

[–] Zexks@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

When has competency ever mattered with trump

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 23 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Hear me out? Wouldn't it be so much more effective to get rid of all those DEI hires and replace every ATC tower with a broccoli headed kid who will refer to every plane as a "buttfor"?

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 12 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

What's a bu. . . wait a minute!