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California Wildfires: Air Travel Delays
Aired October 27, 2003 - 12:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If you are supposed to fly to southern California today, you might want to double-check your flight. Many airlines are canceling flights in and out of this area. This is LAX, and that is not smog.
It is smoke from the fires that are raging just east of there. We've been telling you about it all day long and a couple days prior, actually.
On the phone with us now, air traffic expert Rally Caparas from Travelocity Business. Rally, this thing is really, really messing with air travel, isn't it?
RALLY CAPARAS, AIR TRAFFIC SPECIALIST: Well, Heidi, I can tell you this, yes, first of all, yesterday we saw literally hundreds of flights cancelled and massive delays, reaching 15 and 16 hours for some flights that were flying into and out of that region, the L.A. basin, to be exact. The reason for the problem is the southern California terminal radar approach control facility, which controls the airplanes into and out of all of the airports in the L.A. basin, to include LAX, Burbank, Orange County -- that was John Wayne also -- San Diego, and all of the other regional airports in the basin itself, it happens to be the busiest air traffic control facility in the world for its type, the radar approach control type.
So you can only imagine what this means. Today, folks can still count on one to two-hour arrival and departure delays if in fact their flights actually make it in the air and to the airports. Check online with the airport that you are scheduled to fly with, and make sure that your flight is still headed for southern California or out of one of those major airports.
The smoke will add to the problem as we go through the busier times of the day, as visibility will be reduced. But it won't have any kind of significant affect on traffic or times into and out of the region. It's primarily the SoCal TRACON being moved to Los Angeles Center, which is about two hours north and northeast of Los Angeles in Palmdale. And that center is equipped to take on this extra airspace and additional traffic, and hence, that is why we are having so many delays.
They've restricted the amount of traffic to help to reduce the workload at that one particular facility. Heidi, it's going to be a long day for most. I will be back throughout the day with the latest eye on the sky. Back to you.
COLLINS: All right, Rally. And one quick clarification just incase people are not familiar with something called TRACON, an ATC Operations Unit. Not LAX; people have not having to divert completely out of LAX, right?
CAPARAS: That is correct. The SoCal TRACON is the radar facility that will -- that normally steers the planes into and out of those major airports. The location of that work has been trance transferred to the Los Angeles Center now.
COLLINS: All right. Still able to handle the traffic, though. Thanks so much, Rally Caparas. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 27, 2003 - 12:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If you are supposed to fly to southern California today, you might want to double-check your flight. Many airlines are canceling flights in and out of this area. This is LAX, and that is not smog.
It is smoke from the fires that are raging just east of there. We've been telling you about it all day long and a couple days prior, actually.
On the phone with us now, air traffic expert Rally Caparas from Travelocity Business. Rally, this thing is really, really messing with air travel, isn't it?
RALLY CAPARAS, AIR TRAFFIC SPECIALIST: Well, Heidi, I can tell you this, yes, first of all, yesterday we saw literally hundreds of flights cancelled and massive delays, reaching 15 and 16 hours for some flights that were flying into and out of that region, the L.A. basin, to be exact. The reason for the problem is the southern California terminal radar approach control facility, which controls the airplanes into and out of all of the airports in the L.A. basin, to include LAX, Burbank, Orange County -- that was John Wayne also -- San Diego, and all of the other regional airports in the basin itself, it happens to be the busiest air traffic control facility in the world for its type, the radar approach control type.
So you can only imagine what this means. Today, folks can still count on one to two-hour arrival and departure delays if in fact their flights actually make it in the air and to the airports. Check online with the airport that you are scheduled to fly with, and make sure that your flight is still headed for southern California or out of one of those major airports.
The smoke will add to the problem as we go through the busier times of the day, as visibility will be reduced. But it won't have any kind of significant affect on traffic or times into and out of the region. It's primarily the SoCal TRACON being moved to Los Angeles Center, which is about two hours north and northeast of Los Angeles in Palmdale. And that center is equipped to take on this extra airspace and additional traffic, and hence, that is why we are having so many delays.
They've restricted the amount of traffic to help to reduce the workload at that one particular facility. Heidi, it's going to be a long day for most. I will be back throughout the day with the latest eye on the sky. Back to you.
COLLINS: All right, Rally. And one quick clarification just incase people are not familiar with something called TRACON, an ATC Operations Unit. Not LAX; people have not having to divert completely out of LAX, right?
CAPARAS: That is correct. The SoCal TRACON is the radar facility that will -- that normally steers the planes into and out of those major airports. The location of that work has been trance transferred to the Los Angeles Center now.
COLLINS: All right. Still able to handle the traffic, though. Thanks so much, Rally Caparas. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
