@NibaPlanesYT
I understand your frustration, I’ve experienced what you describe as both a passenger and a professional airline pilot irl.
You experienced what we refer to as a “gate hold” - such holds are used in IF as well as irl. I wish controllers in IF had the ability to provide the reason for a gate hold, as that would provide you, the pilot, with a better understanding of why you’re being held and potentially give you an idea of when you might be released.
The two most common scenarios where you may be subject to a gate hold are:
Essentially, too many aircraft are taxiing and more aircraft being allowed to taxi out would make the situation worse. In the screenshot @BennyBoy_Alpha provided, the area on the JFK AD diagram labeled as “HS 1” or Hot Spot 1 is blocked by ground traffic.
A hot spot is an area at increased risk for collision or a runway incursion due to complexity of taxiway intersections.
JFK AD Diagram of referenced area:
Serious runway incursions have occurred at JFK irl with respect to this specific hot spot. Last year, an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 was instructed to taxi to Runway 04L via Bravo, Right on Kilo, and Cross 31 Left at Kilo. Instead, the B772 continued on Bravo, joined Juliet and crossed runway 04L as a Delta 737-900 had started its takeoff roll on 04L. Tower cancelled DL’s takeoff clearance, the DL B739 stopped 1000 feet prior from the AA B772 crossing on Juliet.
See Diagram Below:
Back to the subject at hand – it seems you were held at the gate to prevent further taxiway congestion to prevent a traffic jam between arriving and departing traffic.
JFK had an extremely high volume of inbound arrivals at this time. JFK uses gate holds IRL when this occurs. During periods of high traffic, a 30-40 minute gate hold followed by another 30-45 minutes on taxi out and awaiting departure is commonplace irl.
- Constrained Airspace - Traffic Management Initiatives/Flow Control
Flow control is the other primary reason why you may be held at the gate. This occurs when airspace becomes saturated or when your destination airport has more traffic en-route than it’s able to handle.
IRL, aircraft subject to flow control will often push from their gate (opening up the gate for an arrival) and taxi to a holding point. However, some airports such as JFK lack space to hold aircraft.
In conclusion, I know this is frustrating, I’ve experienced this more times than I care to remember, including irl. IFATC may issue pushbacks to some aircraft sooner than others or allow pilots requesting departure to takeoff before others who have been waiting. ATC, including IRL, does not operate on a first come, first serve basis. Instead, they are looking at the big picture – unfortunately that means some will wait longer than others.
Rest assured, from what I observed, IFATC did not do anything wrong. The controller is highly experienced and knowing him, I’m absolutely confident he did his best under challenging circumstances.
All the best & Happy Holidays!