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by diogenes_atx 129 days ago
WTF? The FAA announces a ban on all flights at an international airport and then withdraws the ban within a few hours of the announcement? What kind of insane police state would try a stunt like that? Even for the Trump administration, that is setting the bar at a new low.
3 comments
joezydeco 129 days ago
You should have been here a month ago. The FAA halted all air traffic to and from the Caribbean region with no explanation (well, duh) and no announcement of a resume date. Then it was lifted 24 hours later with no notice.
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2OEH8eoCRo0 129 days ago
I think the military did a thing without telling the FAA so they had to guess?
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lingrush4 129 days ago
Trump needs to be impeached immediately for this. How dare he close airspace and then just lift that closure once the danger has passed.
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diogenes_atx 129 days ago
What danger?
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unethical_ban 129 days ago
What kind of government would use their statutory authority to shut down an airport when there is a risk to the planes?

Why do you think the FAA doesn't have this authority? Or, why do you think the FAA shouldn't have this authority?

In other words: This may have been needed but poorly executed; this may have been incompetent planning and response. But I wouldn't call the FAA shutting down an airport "police state".

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diogenes_atx 129 days ago
>> What kind of government would use their statutory authority to shut down an airport when there is a risk to the planes?

It could be either an incompetent government or an authoritarian government that is trying to militarize certain institutions of civilian life.

>> Why do you think the FAA doesn't have this authority? Or, why do you think the FAA shouldn't have this authority?

The FAA does indeed have the authority. The question is simply: why did the FAA choose to exercise its authority in this case? If there was a real danger to the public, then the FAA should be honest with the people and tell them what is the danger. That is what citizens should expect from a democratic government.

>> This may have been needed but poorly executed; this may have been incompetent planning and response. But I wouldn't call the FAA shutting down an airport "police state".

The reason why I ask if this is an example of police state behavior is because in this case the government apparently took drastic measures without explaining to the people why it was doing so.

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