Astonishingly, Tempe did the right thing on this one. Governor Rendell in PA declared a state of emergency triggering the national guard and the "no one except emergency personnel" on the roads. This has been done in the past and US basically ignored it, imposing the "you better get here or else" threats. Of course, these last two storms have happened on weekends and that may be why state governments have had less patience with people being out and in their way.
Amazing though it is, flight crew are NOT considered emergency personnel . I think that law enforcement has gotten tougher about this than in the past, people know it, and have stared down their managers. You can't fire someone for complying with the law. Thus effectively imposing reasonable behavior on airlines. I remember in the 1996 storm it was me in my little sedan and the salt trucks on a major interstate. When I called scheduling, finally ten minutes from the airport their tune changed to "well, the airport is closed. . . "
Egads, could the desert people actually be learning?
