South America's Air Scares
If you're planning a trip anytime to or in South America via plane, take some serious caution. Radar problems at many of the major commercial airports have been reported from Brazil to Argentina. Couple those reports with a severely underfunded air traffic control system and you have a mix that could scare off many airline passengers.
Problems include major holes in radar coverage, rampant strikes by controllers and the inability of some Brazilian controllers to clearly speak English. Buenos Aires' radar was struck by lightening in March, and still isn't working properly - horrifying in the eyes of this American passenger recently taking off from BA:
The pilot, who was American, got on and said we were going to be taking off manually because there was no radar. But it was pitch black and we couldn't see anything on the tarmac.It's like we were back in the Wright brothers era.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations said it was "surprised" to learn of the non-working radar. Um....surprised?!?! How about getting on that repair pretty fast?? A tip: If you're planning travel to or in South America, be aware of the risks or at least aim for daylight arrivals and departures.
[Photo: Daiver]
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· South America's Scary Air [IHT]
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