On 06/06/2013 03:45 AM, michael gurstein wrote: > This is probably not a Liberation issue directly but I'm not sure where else > to address it... >
> Sunday I was flying (Porter Airlines--small short hop Canadian carrier) from > NYC to Ottawa, ON with a plane change in Toronto. When we arrived in Toronto > we were informed that "because the Internet was down" planes were not able > to land or depart. The company's service was completely shut down for > roughly 4 hours until the "Internet service" was restored (presumably by > their ISP). > > I understand that other airlines have had similar experiences recently. > > My question... how exactly is Internet service so intertwined with flight > operations that service can function only if the Internet is operational? > (And I guess the Liberation angle... if this is now pervasive for all > airlines what is the hackable element of all this and where are the points > of vulnerability etc.etc.? > This one is easy. Logistics. Airlines have enormous optimization routines mapping planes, crews and passengers to flights. This allows them to shave off overhead and make a profit. If the network is down, they won't know who should fly where. > M > > > > -- > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > emailing moderator at [email protected] or changing your settings at > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at [email protected] or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
