Airport Delays

[HiloJulie]

One would think, at least if there was any modicum of competency, that the shelves would be filled with every spare part needed to repair any possible problems immediately. 

At least one would think that. 

https://bigislandnow.com/2024/01/02/long...till-down/

[kalakoa]

Living near a rinky-dink airport is a choice.

[HiloJulie]

Sorry. Any airport that can allow a 747 to land and takeoff as well as host numerous military aircraft including the infamous “Doomsday” jet is hardly able to be termed “rinky dinky.”

[leilanidude]

Sorry. Any airport that can allow a 747 to land and takeoff as well as host numerous military aircraft including the infamous “Doomsday” jet is hardly able to be termed “rinky dinky.”

I must agree with kalakoa.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The recent plane crash at Tokyo Haneda airport was caused in part because runway signal lights (stop, go) had been down for 4 days prior to the accident.  That’s one of the biggest airports in the world.  The Coast Guard pilot misunderstood directions from the tower, and no signal lights to provide the stop signal as a backup warning.

[kalakoa]

Any airport that can allow a 747 to land and takeoff

That 747 doesn't do anyone any good if they're stuck in the one line for the only TSA checkpoint.

[HiloJulie]

“That 747 doesn't do anyone any good if they're stuck in the one line for the only TSA checkpoint.”

Which is why one would think that any and all needed spare parts would be sitting on a shelf feet away instead of a continent or two away. 

Rinky dinky or not, it’s competency that makes it work. 

Maybe the DMV will chime in and demand a certified weight ticket on the spare parts. 

[Obie]

"One would think, at least if there was any modicum of competency, that the shelves would be filled with every spare part needed to repair any possible problems immediately.'

That's gotta be a pretty darn big shelf and whatta you going to do with the tech who installs them, Keep one on standdby 24/7.

I don't think so.

[terracore]

One would think, at least if there was any modicum of competency, that the shelves would be filled with every spare part needed to repair any possible problems immediately. 

At least one would think that. 

https://bigislandnow.com/2024/01/02/long...till-down/

The only practical way to keep all the spare parts at the airport is to reconfigure the airport for a larger checkpoint that can accommodate another screening lane.  (If you're having all the spare parts at the airport, you want them in an assembled machine that doesn't require a technician to fly in to use it).  I know Southwest pushed for that and was getting some traction and then COVID hit and suddenly the checkpoints were empty and that idea died on the vine.  Now that the passengers are all back, at the end of the day nobody likes 2 hour waits at an airport line but historically that hasn't been unusual in a lot of airports, we've been spoiled only seeing it when something breaks down.

Everyone knows how much I love bureaucracies!  Imagine the state, local, and federal bureaucracies having to come together in a giant Thunderdome quagmire to modify an airport where the state owns the facilities, TSA owns the equipment, GSA has to approve any real estate contracts, and competing airlines and vendors want their agendas implemented. And everybody is pointing their fingers at who they think should pay for what, how long the leases should be, contractor bids get submitted and then have to go through an appeals process.  FEMA probably has to setup an incident command center to manage the millions and millions of miles of red tape, complete with a team of CFR interpreters and Red Cross volunteers passing out bottles of water to keep the bureaucrats hydrated as they work late into the early afternoon; except for weekends, holidays, sick days, annual leave, paternity leave, and diversity training days.  TEN BUREAUCRACIES ENTER, ONLY ONE LEAVES!

[HiloJulie]

Well, interestingly enough, the technician part of the equation is the easiest and simplest part.

If there is not one here on the Island, there is definitely one within a 60-minute flight.

The "spare parts" arrived yesterday (the 3rd) in the AM and by 3PM - all fully functional.

Update: Parts for down security screening machines at Hilo International Airport expected to arrive today : Big Island Now

"Update at 8 a.m. on Jan. 3: Security screening machines are still down as of 8 a.m. at Hilo International Airport, however parts to repair equipment arrive today."

These "spare parts" surely could fit on a self somewhere within the airport grounds.