Enplanement Projections Reduced by 30 Million:

Airports:USA® Now Reflects Growing Travel Uncertainty

Even If Contained Here, The CCP-Virus Elsewhere May Hit The US Economy

Yikes.

It would be really great if we could point to some exciting, across-the-board indications for the rest of 2021. But as a research and forecasting firm, BGI simply tells it as it is.

It just means identifying emerging trends and planning accordingly. Right now, the overall picture is very mixed and the national air traffic demand fundamentals are not encouraging at the  moment.

Okay… today’s quiz.

What do Stevie Nicks, Lynyrd Skynrd, Foo Fighters – and, of course, the annual North Carolina Food Truck Rodeo (?) – have to do with air traffic forecast methodology?

A whole lot – particularly when we are being bombarded by me-too media stories trumpeting the “comeback” in air travel. See, these are just some of the entities across the country that have cancelled or postponed events due to fears of the CCP-Covid pandemic. They are one clear set of harbingers for the near future of enplanements across the USA.

‘Course, all the disappointed loyal followers of the Foo Fighters wouldn’t fill the rest room capacity at a mid-size airport. But it’s now clear that a lot of the country is starting to consider closing down again, due to the uncertainty, contradictory reporting, and outright political game-playing regarding the CCP-Covid pandemic.

Shaving 30 Million Forecast Enplanements. Looking at the latest data from Airports:USA®, the prediction is for a tailing off on air transportation demand in the 4Q, tallying @642 million enplanements, down from an earlier estimate of over 670 million.

Does Anybody Have A CCP-Covid Clue? Hearing what’s in various media sources is certain to keep consumers totally befuddled in regard to what is happening around the country, as well as what this round of infections actually represent. That breeds uncertainty and confusion, which keeps people home.

Unfortunately, the fourth quarter is now in line to see the effects of this…

… On one hand, we have data from Johns Hopkins indicating that the fatality rate has reached a new low. On the other hand, we have the occupant of the White House reportedly researching whether he has the legal authority to force everybody to wear masks, or more correctly, to simply cover nose and mouth with just about anything, in a show of subservience to the Regime. Or, maybe two masks at the same time, which was indicated as his preference in the past.

Then we have other news. Some carriers in the E.U. are considering requiring passengers to use professional-grade medical masks, instead of the hokey talisman stuff that is just there to cover-your-face-to-show-loyalty, as is demanded by the CDC.

Spreading Again Where It Started – And Threatening The US Economy. More troubling news, mostly ignored, swept under the rug, or just missed, is that China is now in a full-blown pandemic eruption. That can affect the American economy, and hence, the dollars available for air travel.

Anybody remember the lifeforms in the media that dishonestly spread the fiction last year of how quickly the unelected regime in China moved to stop the spread of the Covid disease when it initially broke out in Wuhan?  Well, today, the pandemic is spreading across the Middle Kingdom, replete with lower-level CCP hacks getting tossed under the political bus, blamed for not doing enough. It is not “regional” – it is all over China.

That’s probably considered as a big “so what” to most people – it’s an event thousands of miles away.

But it’s also an indication that the CCP-virus is spreading wildly and possibly out of control across the factories where our hardware stores get a lot of the tools they sell. Where many of the appliances sold in department stores are made. Where a lot of the furniture we’re sitting on is made. Where a big percentage of anything that requires a double-A battery is made. Where a huge part of our supply chain is now vulnerable to being threatened.

Go to any store and take a look.. if the flow of goods gets constricted from China due to massive spread of the pandemic, a lot of the shelves will be devoid of product, with devastating effects on business. It is a terrible indictment that much of our supply chains are tied to a country where everything produced benefits a criminal government, but right now many companies in the USA have not moved aggressively – at least on a moral basis – to shift away from dependence on this system.

Think that’s a stretch? It is.  But air cargo capacity is already being cut between the US and China as a result of the spread of the disease. That cuts volume and can raise prices. Next may come ocean traffic.

Stretch or not, this is still a nasty possibility that will affect the US economy, and demand for air travel. Keep an eye on this.

Danger Signs. Back home, the storm clouds are already forming. We have already had two airlines indicate that bookings after Labor Day are softening. There will likely be more. It is noted that one carrier system has dropped service or plans for service at three smaller airports. Plus, it is likely that some pandemic-induced O&D leisure routes could be on the chopping block shortly.

Higher Grocery Costs, Higher Prices At The Pump. Commodities Going Up. Then there is the inflation dragon coming out of its cave. Based on the spending and other largess planned by the inhabitants of the Marble Playpen in Washington, one has to be very much in mental left field or vacationing on Pluto to assume that this is just temporary. This means that there will be less money available for both leisure and business travel than we otherwise expected two months ago.

Log On To Airports:USA® for the latest forecast snapshot updates, more of which will be added this week. While there, check out our exclusive Quarterly Outlook product, which delivers the future for airport planning.

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Aviation Unscripted Video This Week

Stand by… with the 20^th year since 9/11, we are going to be hitting hard on the fact that the nation’s air transportation system is no more secure than before that horrid event. Log on to our channel on Thursday.

Matter of fact, if you haven’t done so in the past, log on now and take a look at our library.

Great Input. We want to thank the folks commenting on our video last week of the Cuba air service situation. We would note that Boyd Group International is the only aviation/airport consulting firm that tackled the nonsense that surrounded the “opening” of Cuba-US air service in 2014-2015.

Plus, we’ve had more feedback on our earlier Unscripted Video regarding the fallacies and dangers of a headlong dive into battery power as an environmental solution.

It is a potential disaster, unless there are major changes in battery manufacturing technology and the development of safe ways of handling the waste represented by used-up lithium-ion batteries.

Click here to go to the Aviation Unscripted channel on Rumble.com… which is just one of the portals for visitors to Unscripted. Peruse our past insights, and let us know your thoughts.

We’re celebrating our one-year anniversary this month, and looking forward to a fun year ahead.

Cuba – U.S. Air Traffic

Revisiting The Mirage

In Boyd Group International’s 2009-2015 air service demand studies on Cuba, it was determined that Cuba was likely the biggest single new revenue potential facing American carriers. Figure maybe over one million visitors from the USA. But the operative word is “potential” – it’s not here yet.

Not by a long shot.

Message To U.S. Travel Industry: Freedom Demonstrations Aren’t Tourist Draws. Last month, thousands of citizens across Cuba took to the streets to rally for a couple of things that most people in a free country take for granted.

Little things like freedom of speech, the liberty to run their lives outside the control of a Communist government cleptocracy, and be outside the watchful eye of a Stasi-styled secret police. Plus, maybe not get zapped from time to time with things like caloric-rationing and shortages of basic food stuffs.

Enter The Air Service Mirage. Let’s go back to 2014, when the Obama Administration boldly decided to change U.S. policy and embrace the people running the Communist Cuban Government.

The president of the United States flew to Havana and had a whole spasm of photo ops, schmoozing up to the dictator of Cuba and his various Capos. After more than half a century, the U.S. had seen the error if its ways, and would seek to be friends with the Castro government.  Yessir, after one million Cubans escaped to the USA, and thousands more wanted out, it was time for the Obama administration to set things straight.

In all that hoopla, it was announced that for the first time since 1961, air service would be re-established between the two countries.

The raw enthusiasm for air travel demand between the USA and Cuba swept the travel industry like 1960s teenagers anticipating the arrival of the Beatles. We heard all about the “pent up demand” for Cuba travel (?) … and the Obama administration was fixin’ to open those floodgates. Hundreds of thousands of new passengers would be crowding through airline hubsites, hankering to connect get to Havana, Matanzas, Santiago and other places.

Back then, any Luddite suggestion that this may have been cheerleading for a team not yet on the field was strictly ignored. Like, the fact that Cubans by and large didn’t have sufficient incomes to pay for baggage fees, let alone a vacation to see Disneyland. Or if they did, even being allowed to leave the workers’ paradise.

How ‘bout hotels for the Normandy-like invasion of expected U.S. visitors. Or rental cars? Or “resorts” that could even begin to compete with other Caribbean venues? It was clear as a blemish on prom night that the vast majority of the revenues would be U.S.-generated. One-sided traffic generation.

That troubling bit of O&D reality was buttressed by the fact that it would be only U.S. carriers in this game. Any arriving Cuban flight would be greeted by attorneys even before the lav truck could arrive, attaching the airliner due to standing lawsuits against the Castro regime. So much for two-way travel.

The point is that the boom never happened, mainly because there is no business or leisure base in Cuba. (And, for folks still wallowing in political myopia, Cuba’s mess is not due to the U.S. embargo. Cuba has no prohibitions on freely buying anything from the rest of the world.)

The travel groupies missed the fact that the infrastructure and resorts in Cuba couldn’t match the competition in the rest of the Caribbean. The panting politicians expecting huge business and commercial trade with Cuba never bothered to really get informed before issuing drippy-drooly congratulatory press releases about the brilliance of the move to play up to a Communist dictatorship. There is no business base in Cuba, because it’s all government-run.

The Future – A Bonanza Is Still Possible – Likely, Actually. In 2019, the Trump Administration effectively restricted scheduleD flights to only Havana. Airlines that had won rights to other Cuban cities should have sent thank-you notes, as most of the routes turned out to be dogs… due to lack of traffic, high costs (many “off invoice”), or both. Now, they can wait until things change in Havana.

The street demonstrations in early July are a strong indicator that this may be in the cards.

Boyd Group International has covered this in more detail in the latest Aviation Unscripted video, which can be accessed on Rumble by clicking here.

BUT DO BE PREPARED – THE UNSCRIPTED VIDEO GOES INTO AREAS THAT THE MEDIA HAVE NOT TOUCHED… INCLUDING VERY DISTURBING PICTURES OF THE US PRESIDENT’S 2014 VISIT TO HAVANA… VERY DISTURBING, especially in light of recent events in Cuba. Click on and take a couple minutes for perspectives that are left out of most narratives covering 2014.

And our 2015 study is still (unfortunately) an accurate depiction of the Cuba travel picture. Copies can be ordered through the contact button on this site.
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WE WANT TO WISH ALL OF OUR CLIENTS AND FRIENDS A HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS WEEK AHEAD!

Well, There’s At Least One Thing
Reimposing Mask Mandates Can Stop…

… A Rebound In Air Traffic

Uncertainty. Misinformation. Innuendo.

Great ways to kill off consumer confidence in regard to travel.

Ken Kute & Barbie Airhead On The 6PM News Are In Full Swing. On one hand, we have evening news anchors earnestly advising that the CCP-Covid disease is spreading, with the clear and intended innuendo that a new body count is inevitable. No bother to discuss further data on the severity or nature of the reported infections. Just the implications of doom.

On the other hand, there are data indicating that deaths from CCP-Covid are at a new low.

Who to believe? It doesn’t make any difference to a consumer – it is uncertainty, and uncertainty leads to cancelling travel.

Surprise! Confusion In The White House. On July 30, it was reported that Joe Biden stated that “stricter rules” and maybe stay at home orders were a “probability” due to a reported expansion on CCP-Covid infections.

Then, as quickly as it came, it was “clarified” by his White House handlers, noting that there are other “tools in the belt” to handle the situation.

What’s Next… A New Run On Toilet Paper? Meanwhile another White House advisor – Dr. Fauci – indicated a need for expanding orders to wear masks.

Regardless of the pros, cons, accuracy, hype or whatever, these types of news articles are not inducive to generating air travel – particularly discretionary trips. As we pointed out in a recent Aviation Unscripted video, the circled firing squad approach from Washington isn’t going to encourage new travel.

The Medical Solution: Show Complete Obedience. Yessir. Let’s don those masks. Let’s see…  A quick geography lesson regarding the sheer effectiveness of mask-wearing is of value.

Beijing. Guangzhou. Nanjing, Mianyang.

Everybody in these huge Chinese cities has been wearing masks for over a year. Dutifully. Enforced. No exceptions. Forget the police, you will be beaten up in the subway by other riders if you don’t wear one. It’s been part of the Chinese consumer anatomy.

Yet, these are all places where, apparently, the CCP-Covid virus is again having its way with Chinese citizens. These aren’t isolated burgs in the Chinese boondocks – one glance at a map, and it’s clear that China is crawling with the fruits of the Covid labors accomplished by the hoodlums in charge.

Huh? We Were Told That The CCP Was The Virus-Control Varsity. Gee, remember the network media automatons instructing us last year that the Chinese government was exemplary in quickly preventing the spread of a disease they created?

“Youbetcha,” the slimy hacks at the WHO chimed in, lauding what were the most criminal government actions since the Tiananmen Square massacre.  The WHO lied and the media just kept playing rhythm guitar to this scam… China’s CCP had brought the pandemic to its knees, and we were instructed to accept this malarkey as fact.

‘Course, like so much of what we’re told, it was complete dishonest garbage. But this propaganda was swallowed by major news sources like fish tossed out to trained seals. Some in the media – especially outlets with in-China bureaus – still pass on this dishonesty.

But now whole areas of Chinese cities are being quarantined, usually with all the smooth courtesy of a lock-down after a riot at maximum security prison.

So, With The News From China, Why Masks? Bringing this back to local USA relevance, remember, these hundreds of thousand or maybe millions of victims now infected by the CCP-virus were just about all wearing masks. Everywhere.

Did a lot of good. So, according to the politicians, the USA should do the same. It’s like betting on a football instant replay, hoping for a different outcome.

No Indication of The Severity or Danger or Nature. Just Accept. Yes, it appears that the Wuhan gift is still giving.

So, toss in panting stories on the evening news about infections in the U.S., and things are not looking positive for the future of free and open airline travel. The challenge now is that we cannot really trust what’s coming off the airwaves.

Again, more accurately, the situation is that we must show subservience to our glorious, all-knowing leaders and don the symbol of obedience – covering our nose and mouth. And not breathing normally.

Effective? Nobody Knows. Now, amid the oh-so-sanctimonious demands to once again wear masks, it don’t make no nevermind what we use or how effective it may be – an N94, or a handkerchief, a dirty bandana, or one of those defective paper masks imported from very country whose creepy government created the pandemic.

These zoo keepers will tell us to just do it and show obedience. Cover your face. Or be accused of being a killer.

Write The Air Traffic Recovery Over, If… Aside from all this, the life forms inside the Beltway have deemed it necessary to continue to masks in airports and airplanes. No justification. No hard science. Just obey.

That’s just like in China, where the same policies have apparently done diddly to prevent this latest spread.

If this stuff is expanded back to other venues in America, it will – will – put a drag on air travel demand.

We’ll keep an eye on this… but if wider mask requirements are implemented and traffic drops materially post Labor Day, it will be self-inflicted.

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Now…

The Quarterly Outlook™ –
Beyond The Numbers & Into The Future

It’s not easy for airports and communities to plan for the future amid the constantly-shifting dynamics of air transportation.

The new Quarterly Outlook™ from Airports:USA™ is the solution. Not just numbers, but hard and incisive data and professional enplanement forecasts, with perspectives that go beyond the numbers, specific to the client airport.

Changes & New Paradigms – The Quarterly Outlook™ Is On It. What will the consumer do, post Labor Day? Business travel will see some return, but it won’t be in the same regions as before, because the structure of that sector has changed.

Major East Coast airports that were mainly dependent on business and personal travel generation will see less traffic volume rebound than secondary cities where there are emerging major demographic in-migrations.

To survive, airlines continue to deftly shift strategies and directions faster than a performance of the Bolshoi ballet. In-concrete route and market plans from just six months ago are now in the round fixture. Airports where an airline definitely red-lined service pre-CCP-Covid are getting service that they literally didn’t expect.

So, amid this volatile and unsettled market, Airports:USA® is now offering subscribers an exciting and incisive planning tool… the Quarterly Outlook™.

Forecast Enplanements & The Airline Trends Driving Them.The Quarterly Outlook delivers the latest short-term Airports:USA® month by month enplanement forecasts, along with the specific trends and dynamics driving them. This includes discussion of known and expected strategies on the part of incumbent – and potential incumbent – airlines at the specific airport.

And, it also includes an overview of the national traffic trends for the USA, based on the full Airports:USA® forecast covering 168 airports representing over 97% of all enplanements.

The Quarterly Outlook™ delivers what you need to know, directly and concisely with perspectives an airport needs to not only plan the air traffic future, but to keep the community informed.

It takes subscribers behind the numbers. And into the future.

For more information… click here. Then subscribe and get with the future… your airport’s future.

Four Trends To Watch In The Fourth Quarter

The news, generally, is good… as of today.

Passenger numbers are coming back on a national basis. Airlines appear confident, with financial results delivering solid positive direction.

The media coverage is accurate, at least as far as what is apparent today. But that’s not what’s on the very near-term horizon.

Not to rain on this parade, but there are nasty clouds starting to become obvious.

Here are what we believe to be the ones to watch over the next six weeks as we approach post-summer booking trends. Already this week we are seeing certain carriers yanking capacity down from what was filed for September. August is expected to be @ 86% of the capacity in the same month in 2019, and September is indicating it may be below that comparative metric.

Being prepared is being armed for the future.

Rising Inflation

This is the #1 growth stopper on the horizon, and one that may be starting to roost already in booking levels for the 4Q.

The current rebound in traffic is focused on leisure traffic. Leisure traffic is discretionary-driven. When discretionary dollars are reduced due to higher costs of living, that means leisure air travel is going to flatten or decline.

Inflation has already started. It’s in progress. Big time.

Jet-Fuel Prices

The USA has shifted policy away from energy independence.

The current policy is anti-petroleum, and hence the supply of such will be constricted to comply with political considerations. This is one reason that the price of gasoline nationally has jumped by a dollar from last year, even in light of strong potential supply.

Heck, when a terrorist attack was made on Colonial Pipeline, affecting the economy of the East Coast, the current Secretary of Energy was not concerned… according to her, it would have the effect of encouraging use of electric vehicles. Anything to reduce use of fossil fuels, don’t ya know.

Jet-A is not immune. Toss in the current distribution issues being seen across the western USA, and it is a leadpipe cinch that fuel is going up and that means fares, too.

In the foreseeable future, too.

The Delta Variant of The CCP Covid Disease

The gift to the world from the criminals imposing themselves on China and the world, the CCP, seems to just keep on coming. Now we have reports of a new strain of the CCP’s handiwork supposedly spreading, and causing uncertainty about safety of air travel.

Surveys are now coming out that consumers are less likely to fly due to the new variant of the virus.

‘Course, nobody seems to want to question whether such surveys are valid. See, when the question is framed as, “there’s a new strain of Covid that people are getting… would that deter you from taking an air trip?”

Even if the respondent has never heard of such an event, and is given no data to determine the scope of the new virus, the natural response would be, given the supposition of a new killer on the loose, that they’d stay away from any congested venue. But the full discussion of what the Delta strain is, and how it responds to vaccines, and the raw number of Delta infections, are not disclosed.

With the track record of yo-yo truth in CCP-Covid reporting over the past year, nothing is certain. But uncertainty keeps people from flying.

It’s a factor that is already gaining traction.

Restructuring of Demand Generation

The latest research at Airports:USA® clearly indicates that demographic factors are in play in air transportation demand.

Historical and traditional geographic air traffic levels are changing. That’s because of a number of factors, but mainly because there are regions of the nation that are no longer competitive in regard to both business location and quality of life.

Take the Middle-Atlantic region. It has been coasting along economically over the last 20 years due to historical inertia as a desired region for commercial activities and quality of life. No more. The civil unrest, trendy politics, rising crime and other experiences over the last year don’t exactly play well in videos promoting New York City as a place to raise a business, not to mention a family.

On the other side of the country, it’s now indicated that the combined capital gains taxes in California will approach 60% in the future. Capital investment won’t be flowing into that state.

These are just starting points. Therefore, air traffic demand growth will be very slow – or negative – in several large metro areas, while concurrently booming in other regions.

We’ve covered this in the publicly-accessible Snapshot section of AirportsUSA.com.

Planning Insight That Goes Beyond Consensus Thinking

These trend reviews are unique to the business philosophy of Boyd Group International.

We focus on the future… the future of our clients across aviation. We are not reticent to state the facts as they are, even when they are counter to “consensus” thinking.

Our research has assisted airlines, airports, financial institutions, manufacturers and suppliers in gaining the competitive edge and in optimizing change.

So, if you’re looking for new perspectives that step beyond yesterday’s consensus thinking, give us a call or send a quick email.

We look forward to working with you – and tackling the future together!

Okay, Time For Some Hard Answers

9-11 Uncovering The Truth… 20 Years Later

Entering into the 20th year since the 9-11 attack, it is a lead pipe cinch that we’re in for some really veneer journalism, marking the event.

If They Tell The Real Facts, They Won’t Get Access To The Homeland Security Honchos. By and large, a number of the usual suspects in the media (and certainly not all) have not only completely bought into the lore that the USA has taken bold action against aviation terrorism, but some are rabid advocates and defenders of the TSA/DHS mess that’s evolved over the last two decades.

They are not journalists. They’re toady apologists.

A couple years ago, we got a call from one of the prime network “correspondents” who are often mannequined in front of the camera, trying to pose as intelligent life forms. He asked for comments regarding the “progress” made by the TSA.

When advised that virtually nothing proactively had been done to set up anticipative security, this clown came unglued – angrily denouncing any such statements, because – get this – he had personally spoken to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and, therefore, had all the facts. Therefore, any information to the contrary had been “debunked.”  We’re talking loud-voice defensiveness – from one of that network’s supposedly top reporters.

The guy is direct competition for what’s hanging on the rack at Men’s Wearhouse.

Get Ready For Some Great Fictional Performances. Unfortunately, we can still expect a rash of oh-so-sincere interviews with current and former vapor-suits at the TSA or Homeland Security. There’s been a parade of them over the last 20 years, almost all incompetent political appointees.

Naturally, watch for the B-roll walk-and-talk chit-chat between the “award-winning” stars of TV news magazines and a motley collection of ex-TSA/DHS notables – mostly telling us to the eager nods of the interviewer that because of their innovative and aggressive planning, there have been no major terrorist attacks (which is a lie), and the system has made us safe (which is another lie.)

Truth and honest journalism need not apply. A few of these guys in the fourth estate would make Pravda in its Soviet heyday very proud.

An Important Source of 9-11 Truth. One imperative for anyone in aviation who seeks the truth about 9-11, not the saccharine goo put out by DHS and gobbled up by much of the media, is to get a copy of Fortress of Deceit – The Story of a 9-11 Whistleblower. It’s the story of Bogdan Dzakovic – one of the FAA Special Agents who was at the forefront of attempting to get through the political corruption that led to the tragedy. We’ll be discussing his role below. The Amazon link is at the end of this Insight.

Got The Answers? In last week’s Monday Insight, we posed questions regarding some of the circumstances surrounding the 9-11 attack and the Keystone Kops official responses. Here are the answers.

Question One: When were the first warnings by security experts of the potential of not only the imminent potential for hijackings, but multiple hijackings, due to sloppy aviation security?

Answer: In the first week of May, 2001, the Fox affiliate accomplished an investigative report on the sloppy and dangerous aviation security at Boston Logan. The results were, frankly, shocking, and it can still be viewed via YouTube.

The day after the report, retired FAA Special Agent Brian Sullivan wrote to Senator John Kerry’s office, specifically warning of Logan’s security shortcomings, and noting that the threat of multiple hijackings was very real…

“Think what the result would be of a coordinated attack which took down several domestic flights on the same day. The problem is, with our current screening system, this is more than possible. Given time, considering current threats, It is almost likely. We don’t have to wait for a tragedy to occur to act.”

This was four months before the terrorists did just that. Kerry’s office did nothing. Later, Mr. Sullivan called FAA Administrator Jan Garvey’s Hotline with the details. Zero substantive response.

A copy of the Fox tape was given directly to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey’s office. She cannot deny that at least her people had knowledge of what it represented. Yet, it was blissfully ignored.

Question Two: When was the first time one of the hijackers was reportedly seen taking pictures of security at Boston Logan Airport?

Answer: It is believed that Mohammad Atta was seen taking pictures of security checkpoints on May 11, coincidentally just days after the Fox report. In any case, the hijackers apparently planned carefully months in advance, including taking test flights. They had no real intelligent or professional competition from the folks at the top of the FAA.

Mr. Sullivan speaks the truth: it can be argued that Al Qaeda was paying more attention to Logan’s airport security vulnerabilities than the FAA and the Airport itself.

Question Three: After being briefed on the major failures at U.S. airports prior to 9-11 by security experts, what actions did Senator John McCain’s office immediately take?

Answer: Worse than nothing. They sneered at the facts.

Frustrated by the total lack of interest on the part of the FAA hierarchy, contact was made by current and past FAA Special Agents directly with key congress members, who, as it turned out could not have cared less.

Mr. Steve Elson, a recently retired Special FAA Agent and Red Team member, and Mr. Bogdan Dzakovic, a current FAA Red Team member at the time, extensively outlined the security shortfalls to a staffer in McCain’s office, who appeared to take copious notes.

When they were done, she looked up and responded, “Interesting, but what do you expect us to do about it.?” She was probably writing up her grocery list. Point: McCain’s office did not care.

These gentlemen also approached Senator John Kerry’s office, and were ultimately blown off with the excuse, “You’re not constituents!” At least this demonstrated that Republicans and Democrats can agree on some things. Kerry, like McCain, simply did not care, either.

The fact was that for these political luminaries to take any action would mean pointing fingers at other colleagues inside the Marble Playpen, a.k.a. congress and administrations on both sides of the aisle. That’s not in the rulebook, at least not in that fraternity.

Question Four: In the aftermath of the worst national security failure since Pearl Harbor, name the three senior federal security officials who were reprimanded for professional malfeasance.

Answer: You can’t.

That’s because no federal staff in charge of the weak security before 9-11 were given any negative scrutiny at all. Much to the contrary.

The dust had barely settled on the Twin Towers before President George W. Bush was quoted as thanking DOT Secretary Norman Mineta and his staff for their fine work. (The DOT’s FAA was responsible for the aviation security that allowed 9-11 to take place.)

Plus, when the TSA was created, many of the security people at the FAA got promotions into it. This simply contaminated the new bureaucracy with the incompetent intellectual FAA sludge that allowed 9-11 to happen. As far as aviation security goes, the TSA is the FAA’s demon spawn.

Question Five: In the immediate aftermath of the attack, what was done with the FAA security team which accurately identified and warned about systemic security weaknesses with the approach used at Boston and other airports?

Answer: In a normal, rational and honest world, this Red Team approach would have been expanded immediately.

Nope, the program was immediately disbanded. While Steve Elson and Brian Sullivan were already retired and were beyond the revengeful reach of the embarrassed hacks at the FAA and the Bush Administration, Mr. Dzakovic, however, was still an employee, and was subsequently and suitably career-harassed for the troublesome whistle-blower he was.

In the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, the Bush administration stood by like nebbish deer in the headlights. They made no efforts to reward, protect or even recognize these heroes. But Bush did reward with promotions many of the FAA incompetents that were responsible for not addressing bad security. Says volumes.

Question Six: Where did the top official responsible for aviation security at the time of the 9-11 attack ultimately end up, career-wise?

Of the four airliners hijacked, two were United Airlines flights, with loss of all lives, as well as those killed by the plane that was flown into the World Trade Center.

The political appointee Administrator in charge of the FAA – and hence, responsible for the incompetent security in place that allowed 9-11 – later took a number of marquee jobs, and then landed the big one. Chairman of the Board at, yes, United Airlines. One senior official (now gone) at the airline lauded her as the type of management the airline needed. You can’t make this type of melodrama up.

Funny, unions at United vowed “they’d never forget” the tragedy of 9-11. Guess they got distracted. Never heard a peep.

Question Seven: Have there been other successful terrorist attacks on the USA since 9-11?

Answer: Yes.

Terrorist attacks are events that threaten or destroy our way of life. Security is more than stopping bombs on airplanes. Take a gander at what’s happening in cyber space.

In 2021, a successful terrorist computer hacking attack was made on Colonial Pipeline, which materially shutdown the flow fuel to the East Coast.

The Department of Homeland Security, apparently, has no concern or contingency planning beyond trying to stop pointy objects getting on airplanes. The rest of the USA and its infrastructure is wide open. Our electrical grids. Our pipelines. Our road system comprised of rickety interstate highway bridges.

You can take it to ‘Vegas and make book on it: the Department of Homeland security doesn’t have so much as crib sheet in regard to anticipating these types of vulnerabilities, let alone have any contingency or event-remediation planning.

Even at the top of the Washington slag heap, there is no concern. After the Colonial Pipeline attack, a smarmy Biden administration hack, when asked about the event actually snickered and recommended consumers buy electric cars.

Watch for more terrorist hacking events. There have been others. They hit at the core of our societal foundation.

Question Eight: The FAA security inspectors who warned about sloppy pre-9-11 security testified to and were interviewed by the 9-11 Commission. Into which section of the final report were their observations included?

Answer: Don’t bother to look. The testimony of these experts, which illuminated the core of the pre-9-11 malfeasance by the leadership of the FAA, not to mention the almost criminal behavior on the part of other senior officials and politicians, was reduced to just one very short footnote on page 451 of this magnum opus of political slime.

The entire 9-11 Commission itself was an exercise in political corruption, intentionally making sure nobody was held responsible. In that, it was a huge success.

A Warning: We Are Still Vulnerable. Here’s a warning from Brian Sullivan, the retired FAA Special Agent who was involved in trying to get the clowns in the FAA and congress to understand the threat before the tragedy on that Tuesday morning.

“Twenty years ago this June we had a chance to prevent the 9/11 hijackings, but no one was listening. Are they listening now?”

That is, unfortunately, an open question.

More To Come. Over the next few months, we intend to do a number of Aviation Unscripted videos, interviewing some of these people who attempted to get the Bush administration and the Washington hackocracy to take action.

The 9-11 Failures Have NOT Been Addressed. Much to the contrary, and we still have players out there that are targeting the USA. We urge you to order or download Fortress of Deceit. It will put in context the truth about 9-11. Yup, cockpit doors are strengthened and we can’t bring more than 3 Oz of Grecian Formula in our luggage, anymore.  That isn’t anticipative security, and the same failures that were in place 20 years ago continue. A click here will bring you to the order page for Fortress of Deceit on Amazon. Hit it.

In the meantime, we suggest being very cautious in believing what some in the media will be spouting on this 20^th anniversary. There will be some honest stories, but it’s likely many will be suck-up journalism. And run for cover when any of them spout that these allegations have been “debunked.”

All that word means is that it’s not politically acceptable to question the all-knowing media.

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