Beginning today, and expected to last for at least a week, United Airlines has stopped overnighting flight crew at downtown hotels in several cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle.
The Chicago-based carrier, which has also moved its flight operations out of downtown Chicago to an alternate location, is making preparations for “potential election unrest.” Flight attendants and pilots will be housed at airport hotels.
According to an employee communication,
As we approach the 2020 presidential election, there is a possibility of renewed protest activity, we are taking precautionary measures to ensure your safety and suitable rest are met.
The moves are made in locations where the airline sees “”potential disruptions that could impact layovers at these locations.”
Now this doesn’t mean that United expects the aftermath of Election Day to turn violent. If results are close, or there’s no clear winner Tuesday night – where one candidate concedes – there could be protests or demonstrations. Peaceful gatherings can snarl traffic which might prevent a crew from making it back to the airport on time to operate their flight.
And since there’s a non-zero chance of significant disruption in major cities it’s prudent planning to put an easily-executable contingency in place.
I work in Schneider Electric’s downtown Boston office and they are closing the office the day after election and have us on notice that we may not come in for longer pending the outcome of the election. Pretty standard stuff.
I’d expect the other big carriers to do the same if they practice what they preach when they say safety is their number one priority.
Unfortunately, we live in a very polarized society, made worse by the current administration.
Awaiting the inevitable constitutional crisis when Agent Orange refuses to concede
Good chance for Cry Baby Antifa and BLM socialists on the rampage.
According to various Leftist websites, things are about to get pretty testy in these and other large cities during the upcoming “Days of Rage”, no matter the election outcome. UA is doing the rght thing to protect their employees, and one can hope that other airlines follow their example.
Remember when all those MAGA supporters were rioting and looting in major cities all across the USA? Yeah, me neither.
The coming weeks are going to shake this nation. As for me and my fellow compatriots, we are standing by, ready to do what must be done to refresh the tree of liberty. Gird yourselves, folks. It’s about to hit the fan.
No kidding, delusional leftists. Are your heads totally in the sand? You are the problem here. You elect Democrat leaders who allow destruction of our cities, egged on by leftist, lieing media.
Yeah the proposed rioters are sponsored by the Democrat party even Joe Biden has bailed out the rioters they’re not peaceful protesters burning down our cities. yeah they’re not going to be happy when Trump wins and they’re going to act like spoiled children as they are. They only know how to cheat to win which says something about their lack of platform. All they care about is ruling us and we aren’t going to let them. Trump 20/20
MAGA supporters don’t loot. They’re more of the bedsheets and lynching type.
Liberals need to learn how to deal with defeat. Four more years!
It’s very telling who the public is afraid of. Despite media propaganda, it’s not QAnon, conservatives, libertarians, or Trump supporters who businesses are boarding up their windows for or United is keeping their flight attendants away from. We don’t loot, riot, vandalize, or attack motorists. We respect private property and the peace of communities.
If you haven’t voted already and are undecided, I ask that you think about your personal safety and that of your family when voting. Do you want to vote for a candidate who is ok with millions of people burning down businesses, attacking motorists, threatening violence, and destroying everything positive in a community or do you want to vote for a candidate who believes changes need to be made in a lot of things (immigration policy, ending Middle East wars, pushing for peace deals, ending mandatory minimums, and fixing mistakes of the 1994 crime Bill that Biden spearheaded), but millions rioting and attacking civilians is unacceptable and detrimental to our lives and livelihoods.
@UA NYC
ready for 4 more years?
Given the distance to the airport most of these crews should always be housed at airport hotels. The exceptions might be BOS, SAN, DCA and maybe LGA. It’s not as if anything is open downtown anyway during COVID.
I agree with Jackson Henderson. I’m sick of rioting and sick on police officers who are attacked today. 10 mos ago this crap would not be happening. They would be shot by the police and today they are not allowed to defend themselves using their weapons for fear of jail even if the jerk is using a weapon on the police office. How sick is this country. Many if not all of our allies are laughing and would never put up with this abuse. Just wait if Biden gets elected. His advisor told him to shut the country down for 8 hard weeks. Wow! We will all be out of a job and starving and killed and robbed for food and toilet paper.
“including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle.”
For all the nitwits blaming this on the bad orange man, these are Democrat controlled cities. But nice try.
I bet there will be no election unrest at all
Biden will win and we will all go about our lives
Ladies I have a massive schlong
Violence will only ensue if Trump loses and refuses to concede.
@Jackson Henderson. Do you honestly believe that Trump supporters are peaceful and not attacking motorists? Did you forget about the Biden bus on Sunday in Texas? Selective memory or alternate facts or fake news?
@ Tom
What exactly are you and your fellow ‘‘compatriots’ going to do If Trump loses? Ridiculous rhetoric…
Really. United is so full of it. They know damn well that if the Dems loose then there will be violence in the streets cause that how the cry babies on the left deal with loss just like last time. And if the Trump supports loose we will just deal with it like normal civilized human beings
Tom,
I am refreshing the tree of liberty by voting for Joe Biden to become the next POTUS. Voting refreshes the tree of liberty like nothing else in America.
If you are threatening to engage in violence over a federal election result you don’t like, don’t be surprised if the FBI pays you a visit at your home or workplace. Being a Trump supporter provides no cloak of immunity from state or federal prosecution for any crimes of your doing.
America is too good for Trump. Vote America. Vote Trump out.
Just like libturds to throw a tantrum like a spoiled two-year-old in a toy store. I say, Bring the revolution, idiots…..
Then it would OPEN SEASON on the domestic terrorists. I hope to bag a couple dozen myself!
Absolutely cannot wait til all the MAGA trolls and white nationalists who frequent these blogs head back underground when their lying, cheating, racist demagogue of a leader goes down in flames.
See ya round chumps!
@ UA-NYC
How is that lefty de Blasio created shithole NYC doing these days?
@Amazing Larry – you sound like another Kyle Rittenhouse in the making. Try not to murder your fellow American citizens today when you “defend freedom” by taking your AR-15 to your local polling place.
@1KBrad – who you vote for today tough guy? Still claiming to not be a Trump supporter? Sure sure.
9/11 didn’t take down NYC and neither will Covid. As one of the great cities of the world it is rebounding already. Probably a lot more enjoyable living than whatever sh!thole you reside in.
@UA-NYC
You don’t know how read very well, do you? May I suggest a subscription to Highlights or My Little Golden book? Dr. Seuss may help as well.
Dr Seuss would be against Trump.
And Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat is a better character than Trump, since the Cat in the Hat cleans up whatever mess he creates. Trump just messes up things and then piles on further mess upon mess.
Amazing Larry says:
Then it would OPEN SEASON on the domestic terrorists. I hope to bag a couple dozen myself!
Talk is very cheap. Do the boys get one on for your trash talk.
Amazing Larry is going to find out — deny it as he may try — that the greatest domestic terrorist threat in the US comes from the extremist right wing. And this will become even more clear to the general public when the FBI and DHS are allowed to have an open season on the greatest domestic terrorist threat when there isn’t this clown President coddling his fanboy extremists and putting off federal law enforcement from pursuing law and order against extremist Trump’s fanboys.
@ UA-NYC
“who you vote for today?”
I didn’t vote for him in 2016, but I sure voted for Trump this time. I don’t like what the Democratic party is selling and particularly don’t care for what a Biden/Harris win will do to the economy.
“As one of the great cities of the world it is rebounding already. Probably a lot more enjoyable living than whatever sh!thole you reside in.”
Really? $9-BILLION deficit; housing homeless in hotels on the UWS infuriating the normally liberal residents in the area (typical liberals: liberal until it affects them personally); the monied leaving the city in droves; occupancy rates in apartments skyrocketing; crime rate up 50% on the UES. Yeah, rebounding.
Where I reside? I sold my condo in the Time Warner center last year. Perfect timing.
@GUWonder
You are a FOOL! Who was rioting and looting in Portland, Seattle, Philly, NYC, et al??
Antifa Nazis and Burn Loot Murder…. both are left wing terrorists. Please get you head out of your gaping ass.
@1KBrad – when Biden mops the floor with Trump tonight maybe you should start doing some research on regressive, totalitarian countries more to your liking. Maybe Trump will join you in one (if the SDNY doesn’t put him on trial first).
And good riddance btw.
@ UA-NYC:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3APLL6BTCN1JN&dchild=1&keywords=how+to+win+friends+and+influence+people&qid=1604437342&sprefix=how+to+win+fri%2Caps%2C237&sr=8-3
@ UA-NYC:
My, my, my.
You certainly had a compelling substantive retort to the facts concerning what a shithole NYC has become under the “leadership” of de Blasio.
The only people I see telling people what to do in this world are the lefties who think that government should be telling everyone what to do.
I have yet to see any totalitarian conduct by the Trump administration. But that’s what the lefties do, isn’t it? Just call people names. BTW, you forgot racist. That’s one of the favorites of the left.
All those riots, I mean protests, are solely in Democratic strongholds. Same thing with gun crime.
The left led cities are shitholes, and the lefties want to do it to the whole country.
And you wonder why those with brains aren’t buying the bullshit.
@1KBrad – wow your intellectual dishonesty is hilarious. Cities are the engine of growth in this country. Corporations and individuals aren’t flocking to rural or exurban areas you know.
Vast majority of GDP comes from Blue states. We are the Makers. Not the Takers.
Enjoy rural Alabama or wherever you moved to. Come back to this thread tomorrow and take your Blue Wave Beating like a man too.
Here’s my question, which hopefully puts me outside of the political dynamite:
Outside of exceptional situations, why wouldn’t the crews be placed at on-airport or near-airport hotels?
Surely, that would increase the rate of timely show-ups of crew and reduce transportation costs.
@ Marco:
From the airline’s perspective, they would prefer it for the reasons you state.
But the crews, represented by unions, want something to do (e.g., shopping/bars/restaurants) so demand to be in the city.
The unions win on “long” layovers. For “short” layovers, they are near the airport.
President Biden, should be official by tonight. Of course there will be nonsensical lawsuits, but the American people won’t stand for it. Good riddance!
(how about all those riots today…didn’t some up thread say there would be “days of rage” from the Left? “rioting and looting” by BLM? whoops…)
@ UA-NYC
“when Biden mops the floor with Trump tonight”
Guess you got that one wrong.
“President Biden, should be official by tonight”
Perhaps you have that one wrong too. It remains to be seen.
@1KBrad – awwww, feeling a little butthurt that you backed a failed one-term president? Doesn’t reflect well on your judgment…bad move following Trump out of NYC 🙁
A final popular vote difference of 4MM, if not 5MM? A rejection of a march towards totalitarianism and a return to democratic norms & governing competence? Sounds like a win to me!
No worries, President Biden will have a big tent – all are welcome (just don’t try to lie, cheat, steal, be racist, deny science…you know, just be a decent human being, it’s not really that hard)
@ UA-NYC:
Another lefty who doesn’t understand how the Electoral College works.
What a surprise.
NYC is still a shithole.
Oh, and election hasn’t called yet.
@1KBrad – the Electoral College is a relic from 240 years ago and ends up disenfranchising vast amounts of voters on both sides (aka, your Westchester County vote for the major loser Trump doesn’t really count). It’s the only thing that will ever give Republicans a slim chance of winning the presidency, as the party “policies” (which don’t really exist under Trump) are out of step with the country en masse.
Keep your pathetic slim hopes alive btw! Even Fox is already ready to move on from Trump w/the early call of AZ…lol.
@ UA-NYC: Too bad. You don’t get to shred the parts of the Constitution you don’t like. And good luck getting it changed. [The proposed inter-state compact won’t survive Constitutional scrutiny, nevermind states cannot make such agreements without the consent of congress.]
As to predicting results: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/04/no-winner-yet-election-results-2020-433384
But what happened to your prediction of Biden wiping the floor with Trump?
You don’t get to pick and choose which parts of the Constitution you like. In this adverse society, good luck getting it changed.
You think that the Republican parties are out of sync, yet Republicans hold the majority of governors’ mansions, the Senate, and the White House.
Who is out of sync?
No one other than you appears to have called the election yet. Hmmm. Perhaps there is a reason why . . .
@1KBrad – interesting that you are lecturing me on the Constitution, when you slavenly support a demagogue who is figuratively taking a sh!t on said Constitution and then setting it on fire
A likely 5MM popular vote differential pro-Biden tells you everything you need to know.
Agent Orange can threaten a lawsuit in every county in every battleground state – won’t stop the inevitable. 300 Electoral Votes here we come! Sorry you backed a loser.