No Female Flight Control for Saudi Prince?
April 26 -- When Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah met with President Bush this week to discuss the violence in the Middle East, someone asked air traffic controllers to keep female flight controllers from handling his plane.
The request, officials from the National Air Traffic Controller's Union said, was not made formally by the U.S. State Department or the Saudi government, but it came to the airport manager at Texas State Technical College Airport in Abilene, where Bush and others land when they stay at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Air Traffic Controller's Union officials said the request came in before the prince arrived in Crawford to meet with the president. The request was then passed on to the tower at Texas State Technical College Airport — which is not run by the Federal Aviation Administration — and passed from there on to FAA controllers at nearby Waco.
The FAA controllers apparently weren't sure how to react to the unusual request, but kept control of the plane in the hands of a man while they sorted it out. Normally, the controller scheduled to be handle the plane then would have a woman.
Certified Regardless of Sex
The request was not honored when the prince left Crawford and headed back home Thursday. Insulted union officials said it should never have been considered.
"I think it is ridiculous that their request was even forwarded," said Mark Pallone, the Southwest regional representative for the National Air Traffic Controller's Union. "Our controllers are all certified the same — no matter what sex, race. They all meet the same qualifications in order to be certified."
FAA officials could not confirm whether the prince himself made the request.
"We never treated this request as valid. We didn't take any action to comply with the request," said FAA Spokesman Bill Shumann. "This request came in third- or fourth-hand through the airport manager."
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