NYC and the Air Traffic

Working as a gate agent can definitely be demanding and stressful, especially in a large hub. The airline operates hundreds of flights a day, and in a normal 9 hour shift, I work anywhere from 3-8 flights. Back when our hub was super busy, there were days where I worked up to 10. Currently, I generally work 3-5. The airport has suffered a significant loss of flight activity, but that's not the point. We are located in the midwest and run into weather delays often. We have numerous direct flights to every freakin' airport located on the east coast. The airports that I have experienced the most issues with are JFK, LGA, and EWR.

FIRST, LET ME JUST SEND MY GRATITUDE TO THE IDIOT WHO BUILT THREE HUGE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS ALL WITHIN AND AROUND NYC. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS ON BUILDING THESE AIRPORTS SO CLOSE TOGETHER. MYSELF PLUS A 1000 OTHER AGENTS WANT TO KNOW. THANKS.

I have worked a million NYC flights in the past three years and it never fails....there is always some asshole passenger that is suprised, and pissed that NYC is on a ATC delay.

My announcement:
For passengers on flight 9999 with service to Newark, I regret to inform you that the Newark airport is on a groundstop due to Air Traffic Control in the New York area. Our new estimated time of departure is 5:30 pm, that is 45 minutes past our original ETD of 4:45. Please stay in the gate area for future announcements.

Ignorant passenger IMMEDIATELY stands up after my announcement and walks to my podium:
Excuse me ma'am! Why the hell is this flight delayed?? Every single time I fly to EWR I am delayed!! I think you are lying, and I want a refund! Your airline sucks.

My reply:
If you fly to EWR all the time, then you should be familiar with ATC delays, and this has nothing to do with our airline, this is a ATC delay in NYC. Please have a seat and I'll update you when I get the next update myself.

This happens on a daily basis, and is always obnoxious. If you fly to NYC on a regular basis (or even just ONCE), you should be familiar with this shit! These delays are just about as common as the sun rising. Get over it!