On the morning of Jan. 3, American Eagle Flight 3979 is inbound to the Santa Barbara Airport from Phoenix, as is Southwest Airlines Flight 4480 from Las Vegas.
Both are routine short-haul flights of about an hour, allowing visitors to enjoy the pleasures of the Santa Barbara area, or return home from business or vacations.
The American Eagle Embraer 175 aircraft is headed west, descending through the clouds and fog before making a hard right-hand turn, then circling to the east and lining up on the airport’s Runway 7, according to the Flightradar24 website.
But as the jetliner nears touchdown on the airport’s main runway, it has to abort the landing because of inadequate visibility due to the fog.
Meanwhile, the Southwest Boeing 737 is following a similar course, a few minutes later, and also has to do a “go-around” because of poor visibility.
The American aircraft then spends time in a holding pattern offshore, no doubt weighing the prospects for conditions improving so it can get to its planned destination.
Eventually, the crew makes a second attempt to land, which once again is thwarted by the fog, before being diverted to Ontario International Airport, 131 miles away.
The Southwest flight has better luck, and is able to touch down in Santa Barbara on its second attempt, sparing its passengers from the hassle and inconvenience associated with being diverted.
This scenario is repeated at various times throughout the year, and fog is the primary reason for flight diversions at the Santa Barbara Airport.
When they happen, the diversions disrupt travelers’ plans, and can play havoc with airline schedules.
Instrument Flight Rule Requirements
With good visibility, pilots can rely on VFR or Visual Flight Rules, navigating via visual references to land at the Santa Barbara Airport.
But when fog rolls in from offshore, pilots must shift to using IFR or Instrument Flight Rules, which rely on radio signals and other technology to help pilots land.
The airport’s main runway, used by all commercial jetliners, is designated as 25/7, which denotes its compass orientation — 250 degrees when approached from the east and 70 degrees when from the west.
Overall, it’s roughly east-west.
Most of the time when conditions are poor, the airport switches to a landing pattern using Runway 7, coming in over Ellwood to the west, as it has fewer issues with terrain and other obstacles, according to airport director Chris Hastert.
Generally under IFR conditions, aircraft can land only if the bottom of the fog and clouds is at least 200 feet above the ground, he explained.
The airport is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to replace older equipment used to help pilots land, Hastert said, noting there have been occasional outages.
However, upgrading to more sophisticated technology would be very expensive, he said, adding that most airports the size of Santa Barbara do not have that equipment.
Sleeping on the Terminal Floor
Last October, Santa Barbara residents Eric Hackett and his wife, Deborah, along with their adult daughter, flew to Las Vegas on Southwest.
They rented a car for a visit to Zion National Park and other scenic locations.
At the end of the trip, they were booked on a late-night flight back to Santa Barbara.
“We boarded and flew to Santa Barbara, and as we got near the airport, the pilot said it was foggy, and they were going to go around and try again to land,” Hackett said.
“After the second attempt, we flew back to Las Vegas.”
The couple, both in their late 60s, were rebooked on a flight the next day, and spent the night sleeping on the floor in the airport.
“We didn’t even get a food voucher,” he said. “They could have done a better job of taking care of us.”
Visibility Governs When Airliners Can Land
The Santa Barbara Airport operates under what’s known as Category 1 when it comes to Instrument Landing Systems landings.
That means the bottom of the clouds/fog must be at least 200 feet above the ground, and pilots must have a view down the runway of at least 1,800 feet. Automated equipment at the airport helps make those determinations.
If either of those conditions is not met, pilots are required to abort their landing and either go around for another try, or divert to a different airport.
In the case of the American flight noted above, the second try was no better than the first, so the decision was made to divert.
The Southwest flight, on the other hand, found conditions acceptable on the second attempt, and was able to land.
Where planes divert to is up to the individual airlines, and often is dependent upon where they have other operations and staffing.
On short-haul flights — such as from Las Vegas or San Francisco — planes sometimes just head back to where they started.
Longer flights, such as those from Atlanta, Denver or Seattle, don’t have that luxury, so typically head to Los Angeles, Ontario or San Francisco.
Occasionally a flight will divert to Fresno or other smaller airports.
The decision on where to go is at the discretion of each airline.
And generally, U.S. airlines are not required to pay cash compensation and cover lodging and meals for passengers who are stranded by diversions related to weather.
Veteran Business Flyer Goes Straight to Uber
Kenedy Singer was heading back from a business trip in December when his United Airlines flight was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport.
“As we were approaching Santa Barbara, they said there could be an issue with ground visibility, and so we circled two or three times,” he said.
“As we got close to the runway, the pilot did a sharp abort and pulled up. He told us we had to divert to Los Angeles. United personnel told him he’d receive an email with a hotel voucher and information about a flight to Santa Barbara the following morning.
Singer, who travels a lot in his work for a renewable energy company, wasn’t waiting around.
“I went straight for Uber, and canceled my flight,” he said.
The tab for the ride came to almost $250 with a tip, and he described the driver as “really courteous.”
Singer said he later pleaded his case with United and received a refund for his airfare along with $200 for the Uber ride.
Diversion ‘Became Kind of Lord of the Flies’
Shelby Sim, president and CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, travels regularly on business, and twice last fall had United flights from Denver diverted to LAX due to fog.
In both cases, he said, the communication and response from the airline was poor.
The first time, United personnel said they were trying to get a bus to drive passengers to Santa Barbara. After a lengthy wait with no bus in sight, passengers started seeking other options, including car rentals.
“It became kind of ‘Lord of the Flies,’” Sim said, as the stranded passengers jockeyed for the available vehicles.
By the second time he was diverted, he had learned his lesson.
“That one I didn’t mess around,” Sim said. “As soon as I got off the plane, I went and rented a car.”
He said he never sought compensation from United.
Passengers Eager to Share Stories
Nearly two dozen readers responded to Noozhawk’s request for their stories about being diverted due to fog.
Most said they understand the safety implications and reasons for being shuttled to another airport.
Some told tales of missing important events such as high school reunions.
Others shared their unhappiness with a lack of communication and accommodations from the airlines, and the fact they were left to find their own ways home.
Still others described how they were treated well — with hotel and meal vouchers, and bus rides.
Responses From the Airlines
Chris Perry, a spokesman for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, gave this response when asked about the company’s policies and practices when flight diversions occur due to weather:
“On most occasions, we can recover diversions in fairly short order after conditions improve and get customers to their intended destination,” he said. “If a flight is canceled at its originating location, we will rebook customers on the next available flight.
“In any occasion when a flight is canceled, customers are entitled to request a refund or flight credit should they choose not to rebook travel.”
Samantha Moore Facteau, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta Airlines, gave this response:
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, so we may divert flights due to weather or other factors,” she said. “When flights are diverted away from an airport, we work to get customers to their destinations as safely and efficiently as possible.
“Delta teams work at the airport diversion point and behind the scenes in our Ops/Customer Center to continue the flight on a delayed basis from its diversion point to its planned destination as the first and best option.
“If extenuating circumstances prevent that, Delta teams will arrange for rebooking on other Delta flights, other airline flights or ground transportation as a last option.”
The other commercial carriers serving Santa Barbara did not respond to Noozhawk’s request for details about their policies and practices.
