For 20 years, airplanes—big ones—have set a daily cadence. Early departures roar overhead crowing the daybreak as reliably as a rooster. The departure procedure from one runway involves a heading change to avoid flying low over homes, but some airplanes are moving so fast that they thunder over my sleeping neighbors before heading over the water.
An Empty Sky at Tampa
Key Takeaways:
- The author, an aviation enthusiast living near Tampa International Airport, details the drastic reduction in air traffic due to COVID-19, contrasting the current "empty sky" and eerie silence with two decades of constant, beloved airplane noise.
- The pandemic has severely impacted airline operations, leading to a dramatic drop in daily flights from nearly 600 to around 100, a shift towards freighter traffic, and widespread idleness and concern among airline pilots.
- Personal flying experiences are now characterized by unsettling quietness and empty airspaces, fueling the author's profound longing for the return of normal air travel and the ability to fly again.
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