As an aviation freak, I love listening to air traffic control audio and am always impressed by the YouTube channel VASAviation, which provides excellent coverage of important air traffic control interactions.
The channel just uploaded a video showing an interaction between an air traffic controller at New York Kennedy Airport (JFK) and an Aeromexico pilot. The interaction between the two is heated, but I gained a greater insight overall as a result of this interaction…
Pilot from Aeromexico and air traffic controller from JFK join in
This incident occurred at Kennedy Airport around 2 a.m. on August 25, 2024. There was a single air traffic controller in charge of delivery, ground, and tower, and he had his hands full with many parties being (frankly) annoying. I’ll talk more about that in a moment, but first let’s talk about the most notable interaction.
An Aeromexico Boeing 737 MAX 8 with flight number AM401 was preparing to depart for Mexico City (MEX). While the aircraft was being cleared to taxi, a small misunderstanding occurred that was not a big deal (but I still think it is important context since the Aeromexico pilot is in the wrong here):
ATC: “Aeromexico 401, intersect runway 31R at Echo, follow 777 ANA on Charlie.”
Pilot: “Okay, cross runway 13R on Echo and follow Heavy On Charlie, Aeromexico 401.”
ATC: “It’s not 13R, it’s 31R or 13L.”
Pilot: “You said 13R, but it’s 13L, okay.”
ATC: “No, you said 13R, I said ‘via 31R’, Aeromexico 401.”
Pilot: “Okay, 31R or 13L, Aeromexico 401.”
Things really heat up when the takeoff clearance is given:
ATC: Aeromexico 401, wind 230 at 7, caution turbulence, runway 22R, cleared for takeoff.”
Pilot: “Can we hold on a moment, just to be safe, Aeromexico 401?”
ATC: “Okay, Aeromexico 401, cancel your instructions and stay before 22R. For the future, you must let me know before you reach the runway, okay? We only need five miles, and the plane is already five miles away, and the runway is two miles long. That’s seven miles.”
Pilot: “Hello sir, this is the captain of Aeromexico. I think you’re the one who needs to relax because you’re in a very bad mood with everyone. And we’re going to wait two more minutes because it’s a difficult flight. I don’t care if it’s five miles or something. We’re going to wait two more minutes.”
ATC: “Aeromexico 401, this is your prerogative, but you must inform the ground controller, in this case me, before you are on the runway, okay?”
Pilot: “Roger, but watch your temper, sir.”
ATC: “No. Would you like a number for the tower, Aeromexico 401?”
Pilot: “No, thank you, I don’t want to do that. I’m just telling you, you tell us to relax, so you have to relax too.”
ATC: “I didn’t tell you to relax. Not once, Aeromexico 401. If you want the tower number, I can give you a number. You want a tower number?”
Pilot: “No, thank you.”
ATC: “Okay, so don’t get upset and don’t say ‘relax’, okay?”
Pilot: “Okay.”
You can listen to the interaction for yourself below.
My opinion on this ATC discrepancy
I’ve been thinking a lot about this situation. First of all, this air traffic controller is working like crazy, handling delivery, ground and tower at one of the busiest airports in the world. Sure, it’s the middle of the night, but the airport is also pretty busy at this time. How much stress can you put one controller under?
Not only is the volume of traffic that the air traffic controller has to deal with overwhelming, but also the lack of precision of the parties he has to deal with:
- First, the Aeromexico pilot misreads instructions, which is no big deal, but the Aeromexico pilot comes across as arrogant when he says, “You said 13R,” even though the air traffic controller did not.
- Then the Copa pilot does not do a good job of reading out the release instructions
- Listening to the Delta maintenance engineer trying to communicate over the radio is BRUTAL
- Southern Cargo pilots are demanding pushback clearance even though it is not actually required.
- Korean Air pilots keep requesting early clearance – “Korean, this is calling, you’re calling as early as every night, I have nothing for you, no flight plan.”
- Then there are the Southern Cargo pilots who answer the Korean Air pilots and think the Korean pilot is the air traffic controller or something.
Seriously, this guy’s job is stressful enough, and it certainly doesn’t help that about every other call is either unnecessary or inaccurate. Also, context matters – this guy is a New Yorker, and by New York standards, he doesn’t actually strike me as rude. Hell, by those (admittedly very low) standards, he almost seems patient.
Finally, telling an air traffic controller to relax is never going to go over well, especially in New York. I’m pretty sure anyone who’s married can attest to the fact that this is not a good strategy.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with the Aeromexico pilot wanting to play it safe and wait a moment before taking off. He probably should have informed the controller earlier, but he figured it wouldn’t be a big problem since the middle of the night isn’t as busy. When the controller told him to announce these intentions earlier in the future, I think he should have just said “sorry” or “okay” and moved on with his day.
Conclusion
Air traffic controllers have a stressful job, and that’s especially true for the guy who works the night shift at JFK, since he handles delivery, ground, and tower all by himself. It’s hard enough under normal circumstances, let alone when so many people on the frequency are making mistakes.
An Aeromexico pilot decided to tell the air traffic controller to relax, and as you might expect, that was not received very well. The conversation ended with the Aeromexico pilot agreeing not to tell the air traffic controller to relax. Lol…
What do you think about this situation and who do you think is right?
