May

 

 «The new Earth 2.0 that will emerge after COVID‑19 will be a “new normal”, but many fundamental challenges will still exist. Chief among them is the imperative to collectively work towards an effective and inclusive energy transition. (…) The era of compounded disruptions is a litmus test for the energy transition, asserting the importance of the twin objectives of robustness and resilience.» WEF (2020). Fostering Effective Energy Transition. Italics added. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

Aviation disruptions

"British Airways: Thousands disrupted as flights axed amid IT crash" in BBC news

"With a lack of technology, staff were using whiteboards in Heathrow" in BBC news

Aviation security issues with paperless option

Travelers scramble after iPad issues delay American Airlines flights, in USA Today:

Paper does not need an occasional reboot, however. (...) "He said, 'My copilot's iPad went black. Exactly 24 minutes after that, mine went black. We were informed it looks like a problem with all the iPads on 737s,' " Jacaruso, 54, recalled. (...) The crew explained that flight plans are transmitted on the iPads, which make them crucial to navigation, said McRell, 43. (...) The glitch came two weeks after the U.S. Government Accountability Office warned that i on-board wifi conceivably could be used to bring down a plane. "Modern aircraft are increasingly connected to the internet. This interconnectedness can potentially provide unauthorized remote access to aircraft avionics systems."

Dezenas de voos da American Airlines em terra devido a falha nos iPad, in jornal Expresso: 

Uma falha numa aplicação de iPad usada pelos pilotos da American Airlines levou a que cerca de duas dezenas de aviões da empresa não descolassem terça-feira à noite. (...) A responsável de comunicações da companhia, Andrea Huguely, indicou ao "USA Today" que, "em alguns casos, os aparelhos tiveram de regressar até à zona de entrada para acederem a uma rede de wi-fi e resolverem o incidente". "Nós pedimos desculpa aos nossos clientes pelos inconvenientes e nós conseguimos levá-los para os seus destinos passado pouco tempo", afirmou. (...) A American Airlines tornou-se em 2013 a primeira companhia a substituir os planos de voo em papel, de modo a evitar o peso extra que isso representava, passando a transmitir essa informação às tripulações através de iPad.

Role of paper in disruptions

"People check a posted list of survivors at an evacuation center in Miyagi prefecture's Natori city on Monday, March 14." from CNN

We are well aware of the great uses that information technologies and social networks supported by internet connections have been playing in the last years. Yet, we tend to minimize the role played by paper in times of great disruptions, like the one Japan is going through.