The real agenda
Dick,
After reading Pprune for years, this is my first post and it is on a matter that used to be close to my heart. As you can see by my user name I am a former AusFIC staff member having retired a while back. I still keep in touch with a couple of the staff occasionally, and the following is offered for the “debate”.
The real issue is not about saving a mere tuppence on equipment costs. It is about a change in philosophy about delivery of Fight Information Service (FIS) and how that presented an opportunity to cut staff.
The original situation where way back we had a real Flight Service that was to be done away with the role out of AMATS (and much at your own hands) had to be sold with the idea that it was safer to have FIS external to the new TAAATS and ATC environment. So the external FIS evolved from the remains of FS into the “FIS” and ultimately into the Australian Flight Information Centre (AusFIC). It was staffed by about 120 former FSO and ADSO staff at the time.
You say that the concept of NAS requires that pilots have access to safety information in flight from such an external (to the controller) source. This move by Airservices is effectively putting the provision of inflight FIS back into the ATC environment. There has been much discussion that this is really the pure ICAO idea, but I believe that our own Australian system of having FIS parallel to ATC is just like the USA system of having FSS parallel to ATC Centres. And it worked as well as it could. There was simply not enough low level coverage on VHF. There should have been 127 outlets, not just 27.
I am informed that for better or worse, the current ATC Management have seen an opportunity to cut the staff in the AusFIC and THEY HAVE ALREADY DONE SO!
My informant tells me that the decision to cut FIS staffing was taken first, as part of the infamous internal AusFIC Review back in Mar 2005. Apparently the coalface AusFIC staff are on the record (through their union reps) of opposing the review as lacking rigour and having the consequences of reduced safety. Such concerns obviously fell of deaf ears at the time.
I recall that the AusFIC Review was mentioned in several threads on AusFIC, Sartimes, and Flightwatch on Pprune, in the last couple of years but didn't seem to gain much traction.
I'm informed that the target staff cut in the AusFIC review of 19 was sought by an offer of Voluntary Redundancy in September 2006. A full swathe of VRs was obtained and just about all have already departed. I gather that the staff number is down to about just 70 now.
I also understand that AusFIC at the same time as cutting staff from aviation safety services embarked on Marine Safety HF without any dedicated Human Resources for it in Dec 2006. Staff again highlighted the problem of staffing and again has been ignored by Airservices.
I must conclude that the closure of the VHF Frequencies for a few hours in the mornings from 27 Sep (?) 07 was an emergency step because the AusFIC staffing had reached a critical point.
I'm told that it appears that the standalone Flightwatch VHF Service to be HAS transferred/integrated to ATC Low Sectors or otherwise totally abandoned because the AusFIC staff have already been let go. In fact, the remaining 70 staff are working overtime to continue even the current reduced level of services.
The HF service remains but the staffing for that is also reduced because of the requirement for Marine HF service. I understand tha the staff savings in AusFIC through cessation of standalone Flightwatch VHF is effectively only approx 4 Full Time Effective Staff. The cut of 19 has to be absorbed throughout the rest of the AusFIC through efficiency increases or in actual practice – through additional staff overtime!!
I believe that there has been some efficiencies in the Briefing Office, but the notion of the AIP SUP that claimed that delivery of FIS would be more efficient through ATC is simply a fraud and a safety fraud at that. As had been alluded to elsewhere, most of the Frequencies will be transferred to ATC and it is highly likely that this will result in the need for more ATC Consoles and more controllers. All this would cost more than it does now. I believe that because of the systems that AusFIC uses, such as NAIPS and CENSAR permits the Flightwatch officers to be truly efficient when it comes to information requests, Flight Plan Changes and SAR Alerting. The ATC does not have direct access/input to these systems and must relay through either a busy HF Flightwatch operator or another 3rd party.
The bottom line is that working ATCs will be forced to abandon the safety of FIS provision in favour of the higher priority of the Safety of Traffic
Information/Separation when the chips are down (literally). This will put themselves at risk. This needs to be sorted in a real safety analysis.
As far as Industry consultation, from what I can tell, there was none, merely information that the change was to occur. Industry through its lack of attention on this subject will now need to fight a rear guard action. Our political and industrial climate for our flying community works against anyone who complains. Just look at all the issues about pilot wages. Maybe this is the reason that Airservices has got as far as it has on this issue. The climate of the election should not be wasted, though I am not hopeful. I wish you luck in your campaign.
As for the morale of my former colleagues, well – it is at rock bottom. I’ve heard they recently had some internal employee opinion survey thing and the staff are not “engaged”. Perhaps that is why we have not heard much from them. They are beaten already.
As for my own aviation practices, I can tell you that as a baby boomer such as yourself, like you I am enjoying my travels in retirement. However, I will never catch an airline that flies OCTA anymore. I can’t see how our regional Airlines can adequately keep an operational watch over their flights without and effective FIS system to back up their pilots. The heavy metal that I travel on has Datalink, HF Coms, ACARS and dedicated company Flight Following provided by dispatchers with satcoms direct to the pilot.
Lets hope that for just once, the unholy dollar is ignored and commonsense reigns, roll back this move Airservices, recruit staff and spend some of your profit on general aviation.
Dick, if you can do something as an individual, it speaks volumes about how public policy is formed in Australia, (but that is another debate). In this case, I will grant that the benefit will not be for you individually, but for the totally un-empowered in Regional, General and Recreational Aviation. After-all, it was the passion for aviation that brought us all here.
AusFICer