This Is Who Decides Whether Your Flight Takes Off This Week
This Is Who Decides Whether Your Flight Takes Off This Week
1 minute read
Brandon Bybee, left, and Cory McKenrick, second from left, talk with a ticket agent to try and move up their flight to Illinois in order to beat an expected snow storm at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015.Seth Wenig—AP
With a potentially historic winter storm barreling down on the northeastern United States Monday evening into Tuesday, there’s a few people who will have the tougher-than-usual job of figuring out which unlucky flights must be cancelled.
Meet the men and women operating the Cancellator, a computer system that decides whether or not you’ll be scrambling to rebook your January travel plans. The Cancellator and systems like it use an algorithm with some human input to decide which flights to delay or cancel in order to preserve as much of an airline’s original schedule as possible. The program’s ultimate goal is to nix flights well ahead of time, that way airlines can notify passengers of the changes before they head out for the airport — giving customers time to make alternate plans.
East Coast Readies Itself for Up to 3 Feet of Snow
A couple kisses during a blizzard in Times Square in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015.Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIMEA man crosses the street in New York City during a snow storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIMEPeople walk in front of the Manhattan Bridge in the DUMBO neighborhood as it snows in Brooklyn, NY on Jan. 26, 2015Andrew HinderakerA man walks through the middle of a snow storm in Times Square, New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIMEA man waits to cross the street in Brooklyn, NY on Jan. 26, 2015.Andrew HinderakerA pedestrian passes through Johnstown Central Park, in Johnstown, Pa., Monday, Jan. 26, 2015.Todd Berkey—The Tribune-Democrat/APFishing boats ride out the storm at dock in Scituate, Mass., on Jan. 27, 2015. Michael Dwyer—APA worker pushes a snow blower down Lexington Avenue in Manhattan on Jan. 26, 2015.Carlo Allegri—ReutersA man stands in falling snow on West 42nd street in Times Square in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Mike Segar—ReutersTwo people huddle for warmth on the street in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015.Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIMEA man strolls on a walking path at Liberty State Park, with the Statue of Liberty in the distance, in Jersey City, N.J. on Jan. 26, 2015.Julio Cortez—APA tugboat sails on the East River during a snow storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople walk over the Brooklyn Bridge during a large winter storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015.Andrew Kelly—EPAA man crosses the street during a snow storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIMEA woman walks though Central Park as it snows in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Carlo Allegri—ReutersChildren play in Central Park as it snows in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Carlo Allegri—ReutersLoaves of bread sit on a sparse shelf at a grocery store in Port Washington, New York on Jan. 26, 2015. Shannon Stapleton—ReutersA crewmember de-ices a Frontier Airlines plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, Jan. 26, 2015. Seth Wenig—APCrews load road salt into trucks ahead of a major winter storm in Chelsea, Mass. on Jan. 26, 2015.Brian Snyder—ReutersSnow falls in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015.Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME
