Daily Outtakes: Boats, planes and trolleys

Air Traffic Delays

Travelers reported five- to six-hour delays at the Pensacola International Airport yesterday, but our city isn’t unique. Flights have been delayed for hours around the country.

• More than 16,000 flights were delayed on Monday and Tuesday.

Why: Hundreds of thousands of US airline customers have been stranded this week as severe weather grounded planes and led to canceled flights. But there are reports that staffing shortages at both US airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control operations may be a factor

Dig Deeper: Pensacola Airport Director Matt Coughlin will be my guest on “Real News with Rick Outzen” at 7 a.m. to discuss what’s happening.

---

Protecting Whales?

The Florida Port Council yesterday sent out a warning that a new federal rule threatens to shut down the Port of Pensacola and the ports in Tampa, Panama City and Manatee Count.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association rule eliminates all nighttime vessel traffic and significantly reduces daytime vessel speeds to protect a newly discovered whale, with a population size of between 50-100 whales, which is known to traverse the entire Gulf of Mexico region.

Why it matters: “It’s as if NOAA wants Florida to hang up a ‘closed for business’ sign,” said Mike Rubin, president and CEO, Florida Ports Council. “Florida’s Gulf of Mexico seaports play an enormous role in fueling (petrol) Florida, and are essential suppliers of everything from food to medical supplies, and construction materials to build homes, roads and make ongoing hurricane repairs in Southwest Florida.”

Dig Deeper: Pensacola Port Director Clarke Merritt will be my guest on the radio at 7:30 a.m. with more information.

---

More Saturday Trolleys

Starting this weekend, the Downtown Improvement Board will launch a free trolley service to carry shoppers between Palafox Market’s two locations each Saturday until Labor Day.

The trolley will run from 10:30 am until 2:30 pm between Palafox Market “North” at Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza, and Palafox Market “South” at Plaza Ferdinand.

The trolley will stop at the corner of Gregory and Palafox, adjacent to the North Palafox parking lot, and on the corner of Jefferson and Government Streets, running on a continual cycle and giving shoppers the opportunity to shop at both markets with ease.

• You can track the trolley on your phone or desktop at http://palafoxtrolley.com/.

DIB Executive Director Walker Wilson will sleep in this morning and be on the radio show on Friday.