Originally Posted by
saab2000
The best controllers I have ever worked with are in Chicago, especially the Approach, Departure, Center, Ground and Tower. About covers it, doesn't it? London is a close second. Paris was also good. CDG is a busy airport and they know how to 'git 'er done'. But Chicago is in a league of its own. Excellent. Efficient. Disciplined. Flexible.
The worst, by far, were at Dulles.
Can I get an AMEN!
There's one, maybe two controllers at IAD in the tower that can move traffic(in addition to a few cool ramp control guys), but for the most part they have some serious issues, particularly when the weather goes down.
The worst thing is that they aren't open to change (or at least didn't seem to be). Anytime we suggested anything, it pretty much fell on deaf ears.
On the other hand, ORD is a place that still amazes me. I think part of what makes it go so smoothly is that operators in and out of there just know what they need to do and get it done- no BS asking for a different runway and no dragging heels. Just get in and get the hell out of the way, and ATC could care less. They sure as heck don't feel the need to micro-manage everything from the tower cab.