Quite bl@@dy so!
How often have us ATCOs sat on a plane and heard the current delay is 'due to Air Traffic Control'?!?
Is it that there are too may chuffing aircraft arriving at this particular time who all want to land on the same piece of black-top, or that 26 aircraft are ready to depart at the same time from a similar piece. These are not ATC delays, these are Air Traffic Delays! So please think twice before you blame those whose job (as Kiwi Girl suggests) is to keep you all safely separated.
Similarly if the poor bod in front blocks the runway or bad weather increases the gaps on final approach - to maintain a safe operation. Again, not ATC delays.
There ARE some ATC delays, when sickness causes below normal staffing for example, but the broad brush blame game is not reasonable. On at least half a dozen occasions I have challenged the reason for our delay, for it to be clarified as non-ATC related. To be fair on several of these occasions the pilots have PA'd with a more accurate reason!
Safe flying...
Last edited by Cartman's Twin; 14th September 2012 at 12:55.