Air traffic controllers of Canada and the United States jointly control the northern airspace and are good friends. Since the U.S. government is on partial shutdown, the personnel in America are not getting their paychecks. Therefore, the Canadian controllers gifted them pizzas as an act of goodwill. It is a humanitarian gesture.

Daily Mail UK reports the gifts are nothing hi-fi, but a token of goodwill. They are pizzas and the Canadians look at them as a way of showing that they also care for others of their own fraternity. Peter Duffey, an official, revealed the backstory.

It seems it all began when employees at one of the control centers bought the goodies for controllers positioned at an American base. That set the ball rolling and it gained momentum.

Job for people in ATC is stressful

Those who work in the ATC are always under stress and the Americans have not received their paychecks due to the present Shutdown of the US government since late December. Thousands of controllers are affected. They are obviously under stress, which is not a situation conducive to efficient functioning. The Canadians have delivered many pizzas with more on the way and the recipients are grateful.

As Peter Duffey explains, those who are engaged in such work should be able to concentrate on their job of keeping aircraft in the air.

They should not have to worry about their next paycheck. They have to be alert and unnecessary worries distract their attention, which is not desirable. Canadian and American ATCs look after the North American airspace jointly, hence there is a natural feeling of camaraderie and togetherness. It is a unique situation and the response is equally unique.

Whoever thought of this idea deserves credit for showing that it takes very little to bring a ray of sunshine into the lives of people.

Canadian pizzas cement bonds of friendship

According to The Guardian, the Canadian initiative to send pizzas to the Americans is an act of spreading happiness and it has cemented bonds of friendship between people who interact daily.

The US government’s partial shutdown has left them with no paychecks and their minds are disturbed because of financial worries. They must always be alert but stress can affect their efficiency, which is not desirable. President Donald Trump had plans to reform working of Air Traffic Control, but not paying them is hardly helpful. Anyway, a section of employees at Edmonton hit upon this novel idea of sending pizzas to their counterparts in Anchorage, Alaska. Other ATCs followed and the Canadians have already sent across hundreds of pizzas to the Americans.
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