Upgraded radar system delays flights at SFO

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Upgraded radar system delays flights at SFO

Ryan Kim OF THE EXAMINER STAFF Sept. 21, 1999

Air traffic controllers need time to get used to equipment

A regional radar display system installed over the weekend has compounded the usual problems caused by morning clouds at San Francisco International Airport, resulting in more than the typical number of flight delays as air traffic controllers get used to the new equipment.

Until they get familiar with the FAA radar equipment, operators will be spacing out planes, creating precautionary larger buffer zones around them.

Airport officials say the equipment, based at the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Fremont, was installed Saturday as part of a nationwide upgrade. The displays, similar to large computer monitors, provide better resolution for air traffic controllers. But the transition has added 30 minutes to the usual delays on flights already slowed by lingering low clouds.

Monday morning, flights into SFO were delayed up to 90 minutes from a combination of the cloud cover and the new system. In some cases, passengers waited up to 50 minutes at the gate as outbound flights were slowed by the restricted flow of arriving planes.

The airport had similar problems Saturday and Sunday morning.

SFO spokesman Ron Wilson said the delays would continue for at least a few more days.

"This will continue until they work the bugs out on this," said Wilson.

The air traffic control center in Fremont handles most of the flights on the West Coast. Controllers out of that center guide planes for most of the flight over the West Coast before handing them off to local airport controllers as the planes make their landing approach.

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)1999 San Francisco Examiner Page A 16

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/09/21/NEWS7874.dtl

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), September 22, 1999

Answers

Homer - I wish you had told me this BEFORE I flew down the coast and back Sat-Tues, lol. Would have used a carry on bag for the dress I was supposed to wear to a wedding.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), September 22, 1999.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I thought the FAA said EVERYTHING was installed and tested and trained and completed and certified and ..... back on July 1.

Or maybe it was July 31. (Yes, Sir Hoff., I realize this might be one of those routine updates-not-y2k-related-to-change-the radars-they-do-all-the-time....

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), September 22, 1999.


Here, Robert: )

I wonder what happened to Y2K Pro.......

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), September 22, 1999.


I hope someone is collecting these. There was talk on csy2k a while back that these stories seem to be moving around the country to different airports.. as the new software is introduced. So.... how come the problems they had at Airport A.. and supposedly solved [???] don't allow them to install the program at Airport B glitch-free?

Its okay though. Not very many people want to travel around the holidays anyway so there won't be very many flights to worry about. Its ALWAYS a slow time of year.. especially around millenniums. Why, the last millennium they had no flying customers at all.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 23, 1999.


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