Just In Case

My loving wife (I don’t deserve her) has me cleaning out the junk pile (commonly referred to as the table next to my recliner) and I stumbled across one of those “stupid” flight progress strips I saved from my controller days.

Just in case you thought I was making up that scenario in “Way Up High”...well, I was. But I wasn’t.

The following is in “code”, of course. It starts out “W2 TM RSTN...” which in plain English is “W2 (operating position) Traffic Management Restriction...”

MIT = Miles In Trail

RALT = Regardless of Altitude

ZJX = Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center

LTFC = Landing Traffic

The rest is up to you to figure out.

W2 TM RSTN.....UNTIL 0200Z...PROVIDE ZJX 50 MIT RALT EWR/LGA LTFC...TREAT AS SEPERATE (sic) AIRPORTS....PROVIDE ZJX 20 MIT RALT BOS/BWI/DCA/IAD/JFK/HPN/PHL/TEB LTFC TREAT AS ONE AIRPORT.....DUE TO SEVERE WX WEST MGM 3 PLAYBOOK...ONLY TRAFFIC FROM ZHU INTERNAL AIRPORTS WILL BE ON ROUTE.

When you were reading that Wikipedia link above -- about flight progress strips -- you did catch the part about “ to keep a legal record of the instructions that were issued” didn’t you ?

I try not to be so serious that you can’t enjoy reading this site but I promise, I seriously try hard not to waste your time.

Don Brown
November 30, 2007