All the airlines have volunteered to airlift people out of NO.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

They will try to evacuate 25,000 people. The airlines are broke, losing money because of fuel costs, crews are volunteering their time, but all of them will be flying into MSY (which has no electrical power, navaids or air traffic control) to get people out. This is great -- but why didn't the military do this?

http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/050902/1159774.html?.v=2

[Roland99]

1. Why didn't they fly them out on Sunday?

They abandoned people in the airport.

[xultar]

4. Hell, they quit flying out on Saturday early evening.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. You don't fly INTO a pending hurricane.

FAA and airline operating rules prohibit flying into that kind of weather -- it was already getting very bad on Sunday, probably beyond their operating restrictions. These days no airline will cancel a flight unless it absolutely has to. But they just can't legally or safely fly into that kind of weather.

[RageFist]

2. Welcome to a fascist nation

[rsmith6621]

3. NOPE

The airlines are full and airlines cannot spare any aircraft for this..... also remember most of the US airlines ar bankrupt.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. They ARE doing this.

I know it for a fact; know people involved in the airlift.

[DELUSIONAL]

7. Why didn't the military bring in airplanes?

There are air bases all over this country with airplanes that could have been ORDERED in to get out the victims -- right after it was safe enough to land.

Which is why I've been ranting -- WHERE WAS THE MILITARY.


The military has the equipment --

Bush is responsible. He wanted to be Prez -- well he gets the blame that goes with the biggest failure in the history of this nation.

[teryang]

8. Remember the $20 billion airline bailout after 911?

Another will be needed shortly. This is good PR for another government handout to big corporate bankrupts.

Errh, you gave us 20 billion three years ago, we need another fix. So does Boeing.

[RamboLiberal]

9. Why the F didn't they volunteer Tuesday or Wednesday

And as I pointed out in thread on LBN, a 737 can land at many regional airports if NO airport was closed. Bus them to the airport then the buses could've been quickly turned around to go get more people instead of trekking all the way to Houston!

Bunnypants should've federalized all Greyhound, tour buses, school buses, airlines, Amtrak passenger trains, etc on Tuesday instead of giving that stupid VJ speech then wasting another night at the pig farm.

Also the military should've been flying in troops, vehicles and supplies and flying out people. Who cares if they would've had to sit on the floor. Military has cargo planes that can land on short fields or even a bulldozed runway.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Bunnypants won't federalize anything. Remember -- in Bushworld, taxpayers

(the rich ones, anyhow) shouldn't ever have to PAY for this sort of thing. People are expected to contribute and volunteer, but the government was supposed to be drowned in a bathtub per Grover Norquist. Instead of sending military airplanes, better suited for a large evacuation and able to go into airports that are closed to civil aircraft traffic, a bunch of banrkupt and near-bankrupt airlines with volunteer pilots are doing the job the government should have been doing. The airlines couldn't even get into that airport earlier because it was closed and they had to get FAA waivers to airlift the passengers. The Air Force should have sent a bunch of C-17s and done the job right away. But not in Bushworld.

[Pallas180]

10. They're doing it because the black caucus in speech this afternoon

and one on the appropriations committee, said " Where are the airlines and why aren't you sending in planes to get these people out- after I voted to bail you out after 9-11"

That's why they suddenly offered their planes.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. Nope. This was being planned well before this speech.