{"id":82590,"date":"2023-09-04T13:39:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T13:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happylifestyleinc.com\/?p=82590"},"modified":"2023-09-04T13:39:25","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T13:39:25","slug":"flight-delayed-it-could-be-punishment-by-air-traffic-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happylifestyleinc.com\/travel\/flight-delayed-it-could-be-punishment-by-air-traffic-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight delayed? It could be &apos;punishment&apos; by air traffic control"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Flight delayed? Former air traffic controller reveals that it could be because your plane was routed off course as &#8216;punishment&#8217; for the pilots ignoring instructions<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Noncompliant pilots can receive &#8216;delay vectors&#8217;, a former ATC worker said<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>And a 787 captain confirms that this is how ATC puts pilots &#8216;on the naughty step&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0Inside the UK firm that makes \u2018the world\u2019s best travel clothing\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are myriad reasons for flight delays, from bad weather to technical problems with an aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>To the list, reveals one former air traffic controller, can be added petty revenge.<\/p>\n<p>Writing in his riveting book Life With A View \u2013 Memoir of an Air Traffic Controller, Robin A. Smith reveals that pilots who disobey instructions from air traffic controllers or don\u2019t pay close enough attention to them can be routed off course as punishment. These changes in course are called \u2018delay vectors\u2019 in the business, Smith explains.<\/p>\n<p>He writes: \u2018We tell pilots where to go and what to do with no ability to inflict consequences. Amazingly, pilots comply. Unlike real law enforcement controllers cannot levy a fine or pass and execute a sentence at will.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018With one exception \u2013 delay vectors.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/13\/74956459-0-Smith_recalls_that_he_lost_five_planes_in_a_storm_that_changed_s-a-60_1693831879067.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Writing in his riveting book Life With A View \u2013 Memoir of an Air Traffic Controller, Robin A. Smith reveals that pilots who disobey instructions from air traffic controllers or don\u2019t pay close enough attention to them can be routed off course as punishment\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Noncompliant pilots occasionally find themselves on the receiving end of delay vectors.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>In other words, they are routed off course.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, who served as a domestic and international controller at two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) towers in the U.S, continues: \u2018Delay vectors are sometimes issued just to give the pilot time in the penalty box for not paying attention.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/04\/13\/74955499-0-Life_With_A_View_Memoir_of_an_Air_Traffic_Controller_is_availabl-a-52_1693831702040.jpg\" height=\"459\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Life With A View \u2013 Memoir of an Air Traffic Controller is available from Amazon in the UK and U.S<\/p>\n<p>He also revealed that sometimes sarcastic instructions are issued, writing: \u2018The controller might order, \u201cTurn left ten degrees for noise abatement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018[And the aircraft might respond] \u201cWe\u2019re 30 miles south of the airport over desert. What noise abatement?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n<p>To which the air traffic control operator would respond: \u2018Two airplanes hitting makes a lot of noise. Traffic, 12 o\u2019clock five miles opposite at your altitude.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Smith adds: \u2018In general, pilots comply with instructions without question, believing that the voice in their ear is omnipotent.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>A Boeing Dreamliner captain, speaking anonymously, confirmed to MailOnline Travel that flight crews are sometimes punished by air traffic controllers.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018I got put on the naughty step by Tokyo ATC a couple of months back. We wanted a turn to avoid a storm &#8211; they didn\u2019t like it and we got around 20 minutes extra flying for our trouble.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><span>Life With A View \u2013 Memoir of an Air Traffic Controller, by Robin A Smith and published by iUniverse, can be ordered from Amazon for \u00a39.95 ($9.20).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/travel\/article-12478875\/Flight-delayed-Former-air-traffic-controller-reveals-plane-routed-course-punishment-pilots-ignoring-instructions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flight delayed? Former air traffic controller reveals that it could be because your plane was routed off course as &#8216;punishment&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[688],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Flight delayed? 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