Originally Posted by
johnsmith
wish we had more pilot input on why this issue persists
landed at EWR at 11:40pm last night, after a diversion. Waited until 12;20am for a tug to pull us into C-71. Sat in front of C-73 for 40 minutes, which was available the whole time. Kills my idea that the issue was matching inbound frame to the next flight going out, since no one was in the terminal waiting for a plan after midnight.
40 minute wait for a gate after a diversion and ultimately 3.5 hr delay is brutal
Not sure if I or any other pilot has the exact solution to justify the gate waits. I do know from experience that things are just not as simple as they seem. This industry is extremely dynamic with a ton of moving parts, issues then compound with multiple diverts or irregular ops due to weather.
Back in the day I worked on the ramp to help pay for my pilot training. It’s not an easy job and ground staff get very little positive feedback. 99% of the interactions with passengers involved snarky comments insinuating myself or my crew’s laziness and unwillingness to work. Meanwhile we’ve been grinding for hours flipping planes trying to catch up to the schedule. People just don’t see that part.
On the occasions where I have a ground delay I get frustrated too, so I totally get it. I also make a habit to speak with the ramp or crew lead once parked at the gate to see what the delay was, for my own knowledge. Most of the time it is due to a mx aircraft return, last minute gate swap, or some other irregular operation forced upon them which caused a time conflict. The ground crew usually isn’t in the break room watching sports, Jerry Springer, whatever....like we all assume they are!