For heavens' sake, ithaca, if you don't know anything about aircraft operations, please get off this site.
Don't create a drama out of a completely standard procedure and possibly attract an equally ill-informed press.
Wrt your comment, mhk77, might I suggest both engage brain before contributing to a professional site ?
Oh, and also before you feel you must react as well……..
Me too, Yahoo!®
What do we have to do ??