Obviously, several people are involved in keeping any one plane in the air at any given moment -- countless air traffic controllers, pilot and co-pilot, and even neighboring pilots all inform routing and take-off/landing decisions for any single flight.
Without the aid of air traffic controllers, pilots are supposed to use visual flight rules when conditions are clear.
Unions for air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants said the shutdown posed a dire safety threat, calling it "unprecedented" and "unconscionable," reported the Times.
In a joint statement, the unions that represent the nation's air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants said the threat to safety was growing by the day.
"In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break," said the statement from unions representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants.
joined air traffic controllers, pilots, flight attendants and other employees at the rally.
* Europe: Alitalia scrapped three-quarters of its flights July 6 when air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants walked off.
Union leaders representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants hold grave concerns for the nation's air safety as the partial government shutdown enters Day 33.
The May 12-13 meeting at ICAO headquarters brings together 40 nations and representatives of aviation regulators, airports, airlines, air traffic controllers, pilots and radio experts.
Last December, the Argentinian Air Force announced it would form a UFO commission composed of meteorologists, air traffic controllers, pilots and radar experts.
In a call to Medellín air traffic control, the pilot, Miguel Quiroga, said the plane was "without fuel".
