I actually enjoy flying – for the most part. I mean call me crazy, but I think soaring above the clouds in a manner the vast majority of humans could have only dreamed of is pretty neat, even if the legroom is a little lacking.

The one part I absolutely can’t stand – and that makes me quite anxious, actually – is the sitting on the plane waiting to leave the ground.

So this situation would have been my nightmare.

Here’s the scoop from pilot and TikTok user @pilotpete.fly:

“I just departed Newark Airport today. I know it’s been in the news a lot, but holy cow, is that a disaster. Getting out of Newark Liberty International Airport this morning.”

“A live look at how many airplanes I had to wait behind prior to take off. We were No. 27 for take off, and that’s for multiple reasons, but the biggest one is runway 4 left and 2 right is closed for construction, so every airplane has to take off and land on the parallel runway 4 right, and it causes a backup bigger than I’ve ever seen before at Newark. Unbelievable.”

“Took us 57 minutes from push back to take off behind all these airplanes. I’ve never seen anything that backed up before.”

“With that being said, the air traffic controllers, 10 out of 10, excellent job. Super, super skill. Getting airplanes airborne as quickly as possible while dealing with airplanes coming in to land. So it’s super safe. Just expect delays, possible cancellations. Crazy, crazy happenings at Newark Airport.”

@pilotpete.fly

EWR Airport delays #pilot #airlinepilot #aviation #pilotpete #pilotlife #airplane #flying

♬ original sound – pilotpete.fly

It’s a good thing we don’t have an administration that’s actively gutting aviation safety. Oh, wait…

Steer clear if you can.

Straight to jail.

Weather wasn’t helping.

Ok, now we’re just being thirsty.

Calm down, Limmy, this is serious pilot business.