Hkg Atc
DragQueen 69
We all have our problems. You are at the end of a 12 hour flight – the controller may be at the end of his second successive 10 hour night shift; you have your rostering problems and niggling internal company conflicts – ATC has to contend with a shortage of staff and many bureaucratic government salary and leave restrictions; you have a few more aircraft and have to fly a few more sectors per month – ATC has no extra manpower and has to handle twice the amount of traffic compared to when the airport opened. So what you consider to be a ‘valid inquiry’ may be just one too many unnecessary questions for a controller at the end of a long hard shift, hence you might sometimes get a curt, less than friendly response.
Alatnariver
The No. 1 rule of ATC is ‘The Controller is Always Right’ and the No 2 rule of ATC is ‘You Cannot Please Every Pilot All of the Time’. I can only surmise that you are a newcomer to this part of the Orient, as push-back delays have been a continuous problem here since opening day. A combination of apron design, stand allocation, airspace restrictions and double the traffic means that they are not going to go away. As a guide, before you are ready to push, if the ground frequency is busy, there is a good chance that you will have a delay because of other traffic, if the ground frequency is not very busy, the ground controller may be fully occupied shuffling a fleet of aircraft on tow around the apron, and you will still have a delay !
Both protagonists appear to be suffering from the common aviator’s ailment known as ‘lack of the big picture’. Hong Kong ATC strives to provide the best possible service with the least overall delay to all of out customers , but with the constantly increasing traffic (964 movements in the recent post-typhoon day) the R/T congestion does not permit us to indulge in the cheery banter of old with detailed explanations of the whys and wherefores.
As my ex-colleague Highland Fling says, provide the times and details of the events and I will endevour to provide you with rational reasons/excuses/alibis for the ATC actions.
In the mean time may I suggest you contact your fleet manager and ask him to arrange a visit to ATC for you, or better still, tell him to organise a pilot/controller social gathering so that we can have a civilised discussion of our respective problems without you having to resort to biting off your appendages.