Tonight in Illogical Diversions
Apr 4, 2022, 10:34 pm
#1
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Tonight in Illogical Diversions
Found it odd that tonight's DL2338 ATL-DFW after quite a few turns in a hold SW of TYR has opted to divert to MEM of all stations 
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
Apr 4, 2022, 11:19 pm
#2
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Found it odd that tonight's DL2338 ATL-DFW after quite a few turns in a hold SW of TYR has opted to divert to MEM of all stations
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
Apr 5, 2022, 12:45 am
#3
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Found it odd that tonight's DL2338 ATL-DFW after quite a few turns in a hold SW of TYR has opted to divert to MEM of all stations
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
Also MEM is only 30 minutes more than SAT/AUS.
Apr 5, 2022, 8:20 am
#4
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Maybe MEM was chosen because it has empty gate space and perhaps lower parking and other fees for planes. Since it once was a hub (for PMNW, not just cargo), there might still be excess capacity there.
Apr 5, 2022, 8:55 am
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MEM might not have lots of passenger traffic, but has lots of planes.
Apr 5, 2022, 9:35 am
#6
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You can't think of this in a vacuum. Crews typically determine their alternate airport before takeoff and they have to account for where other planes are scheduled to divert to, especially when storms are predicted at a very busy destination like DFW. So a certain number of planes will choose SAT as their alternate, a certain number of planes will choose AUS, a certain number will choose MEM, etc. They can't all choose SAT or AUS or those stations will be completely overwhelmed if a large number of planes need to divert.
Apr 5, 2022, 9:36 am
#7
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Glad to hear that the crew didn't go illegal upon blocking in at MEM.
Well that would matter a lot when you have 29 minutes of fuel in the tanks, wouldn't it?
Seriously though, my point was not as much about MEM being further from DFW than SAT/AUS/IAH but rather the fact that MEM was right in the path of the big storm system. Thought the crew might go illegal in MEM and then wake up fresh today just in time for +TSRA to start battering MEM!
Also MEM is only 30 minutes more than SAT/AUS.
Seriously though, my point was not as much about MEM being further from DFW than SAT/AUS/IAH but rather the fact that MEM was right in the path of the big storm system. Thought the crew might go illegal in MEM and then wake up fresh today just in time for +TSRA to start battering MEM!
Apr 5, 2022, 9:38 am
#8
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I'm well aware of the FedEx "hub" at MEM; that's why I said "not just cargo." IIRC MEM was a big FexEx "station" long before MEM was de-hubbed by DL.
Apr 5, 2022, 11:14 am
#10
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My main point was there might not be space for handling passenger flights. The excess gates/concourses were transformed from passenger handling to cargo.
Apr 5, 2022, 12:02 pm
#11
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Found it odd that tonight's DL2338 ATL-DFW after quite a few turns in a hold SW of TYR has opted to divert to MEM of all stations
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
So many better, closer airports that are not where this nasty line of storms is going to be in 12-18 hours once the flight cancels and crew gets its minimum rest.
Immediately after getting the new clearance to MEM they had to deviate south of the new course to El Dorado, Ark.
No DL gates available tonight in AUS/HOU/IAH/SAT? Airports that are not in the path of the storm.
Apr 5, 2022, 2:29 pm
#12
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MEM just opened a brand new airport concourse and took the old airport made of A, B, and C concourse to one single concourse with all airlines. The only thing ever shared at this airport are the runways and services such as ARFF and ATC, in fact the Fed Ex operation is a way away from the others.
One of the biggest issues I have had in my past diversions is the lack of ground staff to handle additional aircraft so the idea of spreading plans out so they have adequate staff makes total sense.
One of the biggest issues I have had in my past diversions is the lack of ground staff to handle additional aircraft so the idea of spreading plans out so they have adequate staff makes total sense.
Apr 5, 2022, 7:31 pm
#14
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OP was initially talking about ATL-DFW, so geographically BNA wouldn’t have made sense as an alternate
Apr 6, 2022, 3:45 am
#15
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MEM just opened a brand new airport concourse and took the old airport made of A, B, and C concourse to one single concourse with all airlines. The only thing ever shared at this airport are the runways and services such as ARFF and ATC, in fact the Fed Ex operation is a way away from the others.
One of the biggest issues I have had in my past diversions is the lack of ground staff to handle additional aircraft so the idea of spreading plans out so they have adequate staff makes total sense.
One of the biggest issues I have had in my past diversions is the lack of ground staff to handle additional aircraft so the idea of spreading plans out so they have adequate staff makes total sense.
Reading about the new consolidated concourse,, it's underutilized by 50% of pre-CV19 levels. MEM just can't get a break.