Does this sound familiar?

While perusing one of the local papers (the Biloxi/Gulfport Sun Herald, a McClatchy paper) this morning with a cup o' joe in hand, I came across the front page story:"Air traffic 'overload' or 'propaganda'?"

Since I fly in and out of the airport in Gulfport, MS, quite a bit, this article was obviously of interest to me, particularly the lead paragraph:

Air traffic controllers are sounding the alarm that the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport is dangerously understaffed, but federal officials say that's just union propaganda, that the number of flights here is way down while staffing remains at pre-Katrina levels.

Catch up with me after the "layover"

Now, for ya'll outside the Deep South, set aside the laughable notion that the airport in Gulfport is "international" (just like the one in Pascagoula, Trent Lott International Airport) in any sense of the word.  This airport is situated only 20 miles from my house and is used by me and many others to get to the major hubs.  It is also a primary means for tourists to come to the Coast to donate $$$ to the local economy by graciously giving money to the casinos.

Anyway, reading further, I came across something which sounds ominously familiar:

But Kathleen Bergen, Southern Region spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, says controllers contacting the Sun Herald "must be part of a union strategy." She said all of a sudden, she's been hearing from reporters throughout the Southeast with similar questions and concerns raised by controllers.

This is strangely and disturbingly reminiscent of the type of response used throughout the Bush Administration for any warning which doesn't fit the template:  Cast aspersions on the motives of the messengers without addressing the substance of the message.

However, news reports nationwide have for years warned of air traffic controller shortages. Part of the problem, they say, is the "Reagan hires" - controllers hired in the early 1980s to break up a strike - are going to be retiring in droves. But the FAA has been aggressively hiring new controllers in recent years and has said repeatedly it has a handle on that problem.

... snip ...

But Beck [union representative for the Gulfport local of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association] said trainees "are basically useless because until they get certified they can't work by themselves." He said that controllers are often "working 15 airplanes" at one time when they should only be handling five or six. He said the FAA is using semantics to claim full staffing.

The article consists of several paragraphs of "he said/she said"; the union accusing the FAA of playing with numbers and the FAA rebutting with similar charges.  Nevertheless, given the Bush Administration's poor track record of heeding any warnings or advice, I am a little concerned.

I would ask all of ya'll here in the Southeast to get your local mullet-wrapper (a colloquial nod to "Biloxi Bacon") to ask about staffing levels at your nearest "international" airport.  It would be interesting to see what you come up with.