AI 2010 CO EWR Ops Center Tour

It's a fascinating tour. We spent about 1 1/2 hours in the control center. Maureen, one of the managers for the control center, took us slowly through each section of the tower and explained its responsibility. We got to talk freely with the controllers on duty. They were all very friendly and patient about answering our questions. It's a eye opener for me to see how they commanded the push back and taxi, coordinated the cargo and passenger flow and dealt with emergencies. It happened that the LHR-EWR flight had to return to gate 3 times for various mechanical problems and was running 7 hours late. One controller showed us how this was being dealt with.

There was no restriction for photography. However, the heat haze was strong under the mid-day sun. The tower itself had tinted glass and shades were drawn. So it's not good for taking pictures. Here are a few:

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Landings seen from the tower
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CO ramp activities
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