Air Traffic Control Issues

[jrfsp]

Not just Airservices Australia- there’s a global shortage after COVID - look at what’s happening in the US - they have a worse shortage than Australia

 

[Quickstatus]

Sunday 9August
Air Traffic Flow plan

MEL affected by Weather
GDP = Ground delay program = Holding aircraft at origin until an arrival slot appears.

 

[Melburnian1]

My reading suggests that the problem is not ATC taking sickies, nor is ATC holding the travelling public hostage.

An Australian-domiciled pilot said to me a couple of weeks ago 'there's an element of CFMEU-style tactics in what the Sydney air traffic controllers are doing'.

Sickies appear to peak on Fridays and Saturdays, and during school holidays. Amazing.

No one denies controlling aircraft must be a very stressful, fast paced job. I once worked with a male who was bright, but had applied and been rejected because he couldn't get his head around the multiple types of separation he needed to be able to process.

However many other jobs are arguably equally stressful: paramedics, surgeons, emergency department nurses, train controllers, firemen at times, police, dangling 140 metres above sea level from the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne to remove graffiti painted by Pam The Bird, crane operators on building sites, heavy vehicle and freight train drivers to name a few.

These people signed up for very well remunerated positions in Sydney yet their taking sickies (of which they have an unlimited number available each year) is hugely disadvantaging passengers, some of whom miss international connections as a result, and causing airlines to waste fuel. On occasion, restricted numbers of movements beyond hourly and quarter hour movement limitations may see airline crews having to spend an overnight away from where their roster says they should be.

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

 

[Quickstatus]

An Australian-domiciled pilot said to me a couple of weeks ago 'there's an element of CFMEU-style tactics in what the Sydney air traffic controllers are doing'.

Perhaps but a well rostered ATC tower would significantly mitigate that.
It is difficult to cover for a sickie when the roster is already short
Inadequate rosters contribute to more overtime which then has a flow on effect into morale, burnout and stress

.......

Newer technologies such as the digital aerodrome service DASin operation at WSI would help.
WSI is being controlled via a DAS facility in Eastern Creek.

A digital aero drone aerodrome service with offsite operation, including full 360deg HD IR capable cameras which improve low light and night visibility and automated aircraft tracking. Additionally the video feed can be overlaid with other operational data such as aircraft call signs etc.

Eventually a DAS can be further automated to improve the functions of ATC....

Then for ground operations, some have suggested automated aircraft towing machines which automates ground movements (and pilots have control as well).

The future is bright

 

[Must...Fly!]

Sickies appear to peak on Fridays and Saturdays, and during school holidays. Amazing.

Short staffed > leave routinely not approved, but people still have lives outside of work > why bother applying to be rejected > therefore your employer doesn't know the dates you want off > take sick leave.

It's not underhanded CFMEU enterprise bargaining tactics, it is just facts of life.

 

[Melburnian1]

Asia and Pacific to start with.
I am sure Australian Citizenship is something that most Asians admire and we should leverage the Australian Citizenship advantage to empty their air traffic control room so to fill ours.
I always believe that by hiring foreigners on visa, reliability of work output would significantly increase due to their fear of losing the Australian visa.
It will take time to train them, but we can also fast track training, so that even we are facing short term pain, we will ensure long term gain.

Despite what @markis10 claims is a '(high) rejection rate', this suggestion has merit.

The vast majority of northeast and southeast Asians have an excellent work ethic. It saddens me to say that often (note, I did not state 'always') they have a better work ethic than increasingly entitled Caucasian Australians, particularly if the latter are members of a militant union.

Maybe a 2026 equivalent of Chris Corrigan needs to emerge to stop this culture of taking sickies, just as he successfully reformed parts of the waterfront.

It's not good enough to have passengers (and hardworking airline crews) repeatedly held hostage by a small minority of employees in a related field.

Delays also mean urgent freight such as blood donations (required for transfusions) are slower to be delivered to hospitals or other settings where blood may be required. That could in a worst case scenario be life threatening.

 

[Must...Fly!]

It's not good enough to have passengers (and hardworking airline crews) held hostage by a small minority of employees in a related field.

You seem to be certain that the controllers themselves are deserving of the blame and the cause of the problems.

 

[Quickstatus]

It's not good enough to have passengers (and hardworking airline crews) repeatedly held hostage by a small minority of employees in a related field.

Holding hostage implies that someone is trying to leverage a negotiating position.
Unions who use the 'work to rule" could be seen to be doing just that, but are the ATC trying to negotiate a position?

Delays also mean urgent freight such as blood donations (required for transfusions) are slower to be delivered

Not necessarily
Urgent medical supplies are labelled as "must fly" and will fly on the first available for the destination, and be last to be loaded onto the aircraft. This may include blood, medicines, and even donor organs like a liver or kidney.
The transport of these items are highly coordinated between all the relevant parties to ensure minimal delays even when the airport is delayed.
It is easier to shift the Eski than a passenger to another aircraft if required if the aircraft in inoperative.
If the 10am to XYZ is now delayed to 12pm and the blood arrives on the ramp at 1130am, it would just fit into the delayed 10am flight

Highly time critical items like a donor heart are usually escorted in private fixed wing, helicopter charters which can depart from secondary airfields. Dont forget road charter by police escort.

I have not heard of delays to critical medical transportation due to ATC shortages.

What may have been affected are Drs travelling to regional areas to provide scheduled services.

 

[Warragul]

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

Come to work with a cold/ headache or fatigued to 'save' the sick leave. One shouldn't do it but it happens. Just what you want in that workplace.

There may not be any other occupations with this provision, doesn't mean there shouldn't be

 

[Melburnian1]

Holding hostage implies that someone is trying to leverage a negotiating position.

In the general sense, not always: it's an expression that can just mean 'individuals are being disadvantaged by others' actions'.

That's what's occurring here.

I wasn't referring to any enterprise bargaining period.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Just a personal anecdote.

If I am rostered on to work and feeling ill or under the weather, the question I always ask myself is "if I had my worst day in the office, could I manage it?"

Answer yes, in I go. Answer no, I call in sick.

Fact of my job, like an ATC, is that you can't be half there, work from home or absent mindedly dial in to several Teams meetings.

Staffing levels can never really make up for that so overtime comes in, and sometimes that just doesn't cut it. No one is saying it's a good situation, but the current ATC problems here were pretty foreseeable.

 

[AuSammy]

Given the stressful nature of the job, the requirement for 100% accuracy in a spatial decision making environment, the requirement to be concentrating relentlessly during busy periods and the consequences of mistakes or corrupted communications, I feel uncomfortable knowing overworked staff are being also forced to work overtime.

Pilots required to make decisions in similar environments have strict regulations about duty hours etc.

Gut feeling there is far more at play here than “just staff taking sickies”.

 

[anat0l]

As usual in situations like this, there's two large issues at play.

The first is how we got here. I think many people are saying it was obvious as day that these problems were clearly foreseeable. Not one of these post facto bandwagon-jumping judgements. Crucifying those responsible is left as an exercise to the decision maker and anyone so caring.

The second one is now how do we fix it. That is far less simple and definitely not as quick as putting the idiots who messed the bed to the sword. In one case it's (re)building the foundation of ATC to more manageable levels, but in the interim it may force down traffic so that safety isn't detrimentally compromised.....

...if it hasn't already, a la another incident reported today

 

[Must...Fly!]

forced to work overtime.

It's not forced, otherwise this thread would not exist.

 

[Quickstatus]

I feel uncomfortable knowing overworked staff are being also forced to work overtime.

aTC overtime is voluntary.
Though I can imagine some would be feel they are letting their mates down in an understaffed tower if they didn't chip in with some overtime.

That is far less simple

The buck stop with the Minister for Transport - who just keeps blaming the previous govt.

In any case, Airservices has been trying to recruit from the US as well.
I hope they don't recruit the JFK "talk at a million words a minute" types.

if it hasn't already, a la another incident reported today

Not sure that is an ATC issue.
The Qr aircraft was being towed.

 

[Brissy1]

It's not forced, otherwise this thread would not exist.

Actually it is forced. Their EBA REQUIRES they work reasonable overtime. "Reasonable " was defined in the industrial court some years ago (which Airservice Au went to) as being 1 extra day/fortnight, until that wasn't enough then ASA got it redefined as 1 day/week. Trouble is, when that overtime becomes part of a roster, who do you call to replace sick leave!
The airlines solution is rostered standby, requiring extra staff

 

[nancypants]

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

NT police get unlimited sick leave

 

[Brissy1]

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave?

That was introduced by CASA, not their union nor of course Airservices. Airservices mitigation is " counselling" and excess can and does lead to employment termination, of course.

 

[AuSammy]

What justification is for these 'protected species' of ATCs to receive unlimited annual sick leave? I don't know of any other occupation at non-management level that allows this.

Two companies I have worked for (non gov) in a past life had no cap on sickleave and

 

[Melburnian1]

Two companies I have worked for (non gov) in a past life had no cap on sickleave and managers discretion

It certainly isn't a widespread practice by any means.

Unfortunately, sick leave provision is often abused. It's meant for genuine illness, not just because an employee wants to take a day off.

Some jobs requiring shift work see employees swapping hours or days of work with colleagues.