Airport uninformation

Yesterday I drove to Barcelona airport to pick up my mother, who's visiting for a week. Her flight was due in at 21:25 but arrived at 00:15. She was told the delay was due to a strike by French air traffic controllers. Those people seem to be permanently dissatisfied with their jobs. I wish whoever employs them would put them out of their misery—either by doing what they ask, or by firing them (as in the USA in 1981).

But my main complaint is about the inadequacy of airport information. At 21:25, when the plane was due to land, it still hadn't taken off from Heathrow; but Barcelona airport wasn't aware of any delay. Later on, it announced a series of delays, apparently calculated arbitrarily on the basis that the plane hadn't arrived yet, therefore there must be some delay. We are in the 21st century: the airport ought to know where each plane is at any time. To know that the plane hasn't taken off yet, it doesn't even need to be in touch with the plane; it just needs to be in touch with the other airport, which really isn't difficult.