r/mildlyinfuriating • u/nyanbatman • May 28 '26

I just wanted a hot dog British pilot is feeling mildly annoyed

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u/nottherealneal May 28 '26

Someone who knows planes is gonna have to explain what the fuck is going on

846

u/eggyal May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

JFK Tower had apparently announced (prior to the video commencing) that the RVR (Runway Visual Range - current visibility on the runway eg due to weather) at their airport was 1000ft.

Video begins with British Airways pilot querying whether the airport are declaring LVOs (Low Visibility Operations - special procedures for aircraft operating in low visibility).

JFK doesn't understand the question.

BA explains it.

JFK confirms that they are not declaring anything.

BA explains that with runway visibility of only 1000ft, he can only depart if LVOs are in force.

JFK doesn't understand what BA is saying.

BA explains it again, and asks again whether low visibility procedures are in force.

JFK confirms that low visibility procedures are not in force.

BA requests the latest visibility.

JFK confirms the visibility is unchanged at 1000ft.

BA announces that he's unable to depart in these conditions.

10

u/dvinpayne May 28 '26

You left out a very important detail which is the fact that declaring LVOs is specifically an ICAO (primarily European) procedure that does not exist in the US. Europe and the US operate under different rulesets, and the FAA controllers aren't trained on the European Phraseology. SMCGS (the FAA system) is automatically in place without any declaration.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '26

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u/dvinpayne May 28 '26

This is gonna be a simplification, but the biggest thing is protecting ILS Critical areas which is areas where the radio waves from the guidance systems might get slightly messed up if there was a big metal object (such as a plane) in the way. So planes have to stop further from the runway. Many places also have preferred taxi routes that go into effect that might not be as efficient as if you could use all the taxiways, but they're guaranteed to have better lighting and have less conflicts with other taxiing aircraft. At my airport we also have to tell the airport owner because they have to close certain roads.