this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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xkcd #3124: Grounded

Title text:

We should have you at the gate in just under two hours--two and a half if we get pulled over.

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3124/

explainxkcd for #3124

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[–] marcos@lemmy.world 66 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

Yeah, I will need an explanation on this.

Do they plan to taxi all the way to the destination? (Are those bridges clearance charts about height clearances for trucks on the kinds of bridge that passes over a road?)

[–] obstbert@feddit.org 67 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's how I understand it. Return to bus.

[–] zqwzzle@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 week ago

They might be referencing this American Airlines “flight” that is actually a bus.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/american-airlines-bus-service-landline-guide

[–] tanisnikana@lemmy.world 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

11-foot-8! 11-foot-8!

plane arrives at its gate without the top two feet of its tail fin

[–] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 week ago

Can opener bridge ~~strikes~~ is struck again!

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago

Yeah, drive the plane on the ground since the storm makes it hard to fly!

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

You know, those jet engines are LOUD. Sure, they can technically move the plane on regular roads too, but the noise is just astounding.

In a big airport you might not have noticed, because you were either in the terminal or inside a plane when that happened. However, if you’ve visited a smaller airport, you may have stood just outside the fence when someone reved up their jet engines. Imagine that, but even louder, and moving on normal roads. Should be fun for everyone.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Sure, they can technically move the plane on regular roads too

Well, not really. Or technically, they can if they move fast enough. If they stop, wherever they are will stop being a road quickly.

And there's that entire problem of making room for the wings. It's one of the largest problems when designing airports.

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 4 points 1 week ago

"Beep beep I'm a plane!"

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago

Yes, the wings are a huge problem. Not that many roads can handle something as wide as a plane.

[–] lars@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 week ago

If it were the sound of the Concorde, may she RIP, I think it’s a loud I could tolerate. Sonic booms from like a city block away would relax my nerves.

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago

Imagine that, but even louder, and moving on normal roads. Should be fun for everyone.

Of course it'll be fun for me. Im in the airplane, getting to my destination on time.

[–] ech@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago
[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

I got thrown for a loop by the word bridge too. It having multiple meanings made me wonder if there's a bridge in flying parlance that meant something else. Clearance is also very unspecific.

[–] lena@gregtech.eu -5 points 1 week ago

I think they plan to ignore ATC, turn up their engines and fly away