An air traffic controller at LaGuardia was being a jerk, and a Delta pilot called him out for it… kudos to him, I think!
Rude LaGuardia controller gets called out, doesn’t like it
VASAviation has the scoop on what happened at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) at around 5PM on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. There was a ground stop at the airport due to thunderstorms. LaGuardia can be an operational mess under the best of circumstances, let alone when operations are interrupted.
During this ground stop, there were a lot of planes on taxiways waiting for their turn. Of course the bad weather is no one’s fault, and air traffic controllers don’t have a crystal ball.
However, understandably pilots want to get a sense of where they are in the sequence, given all the operational considerations (including fuel). After all, no passengers want to be stuck on a plane on a taxiway for hours, only to be told by the pilots that there’s no longer enough fuel, and they need to return to the gate.
So on Wednesday evening, the way the air traffic controller (or in this case, ground controller) communicated with pilots left a lot to be desired, as he took a staunch “not my problem” attitude.
First the pilot of United flight UA2005 bound for Chicago (ORD) asked what kind of a delay could be expected, and the air traffic controller responded with “yeah, from now till midnight you’ll get out of here.” The pilot responded with “yeah, well, we got some fuel concerns,” to which the controller snapped back “roger, fuel management is your priority, not mine.”
Next, the pilot of Delta flight DL999 bound for Detroit (DTW) asked what the plane’s sequence was, and then quite the interaction unfolded:
Air traffic controller: “From now till midnight.”
Delta pilot: “That’s not a good answer, but thanks for…”
Air traffic controller: “That’s the best I can do, if you want a better answer, contact your dispatch or your company.”
Delta pilot: “No, your line up here is, I’m just looking for a sequence for fuel management, and yes, that’s part of your problem.”
Air traffic controller: “Yes, sir, fuel management is your priority, not mine.”
Delta pilot: “You’re an idiot.”
Air traffic controller: “I got a number for you whenever you’re ready.”
Delta pilot: “Oh, I want it! We wanna talk.”
Air traffic controller: “Delta 999, I got a phone number whenever you’re ready.”
Delta pilot: “Pass it along.”
Air traffic controller: “347-846-XXXX.”
Delta pilot: “Yeah, I want to talk to your manager.”
Air traffic controller: “Yes sir, manager is up here, he’s looking forward to the call.”
The Delta jet ended up staying in its position for around an hour, and then returned to the gate. The flight ended up departing around six hours behind schedule.
The controller’s unprofessionalism is astounding
Air traffic controllers have stressful jobs, and a vast majority of them try their best, and don’t have an attitude. But then you have a small minority of controllers who seemingly make it their mission to find any way to exert power and put pilots in their place.
This controller is the perfect example of that. His canned answer to every question was basically “you’ll depart in the next seven hours.” That is the definition of unhelpful. One would hope the controller could provide a bit more clarity on the sequence, but even if he couldn’t, there’s a polite way to say things.
How about instead just saying “I wish I had an answer, but your guess is as good as mine,” or something? But his answer was intentionally incendiary, and just intended as a middle finger to pilots.
Now, it wasn’t professional for the Delta pilot to call him an idiot. But I do kind of respect how he challenges the controller, and I love his enthusiasm for getting a number to call (which is usually something that pilots dread).
Bottom line
A New York LaGuardia air traffic controller with an attitude got a taste of his own medicine, when a pilot called him an idiot, after he was intentionally unhelpful. The conversation escalated, with the controller giving the pilot a number to call, and the pilot enthusiastically taking that down.
While neither party exactly showed professionalism, I definitely side with the Delta pilot, for his premium comeback and enthusiasm… 😉
What do you make of this LGA ATC interaction?
