Originally Posted by Herald Sun, January 01, 2008
Safety warning from air traffic controllers over travel
AIRCRAFT carrying hundreds of people are flying over populated areas across the country without supervision as air traffic controllers struggle to keep up with the workload in the skies.
And the controllers say Australia's proud record of airline safety is in jeopardy because the body overseeing the nation's airways is not training enough controllers.
The Herald Sun has seen a scathing letter from the national union of air traffic controllers to Airservices Australia complaining of a "critical threat" to continued flight safety.
Airservices Australia is a government-owned corporation that employs 90 per cent of Australia's air traffic controllers.
Civil Air Australia president Michael Haines told Airservices Australia that airspace is being left uncontrolled "on an almost daily basis due to the lack of adequate staffing".
"At the same time, I fear that Airservices is concealing from regulatory and safety organisations the fact that airspace is closing due to low staff levels," Mr Haines wrote.
Airlines are notified when airspace is not controlled and they must decide whether to continue flying through the area.
The Herald Sun has learned airspace over Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, Coolangatta south to Coffs Harbour, central Australia, western NSW and Launceston has been uncontrolled at times during the past month.
A pilot claimed that services normally provided by Melbourne tower were unavailable because of staff shortages on at least one occasion last month.
CAA said the boom in air travel was putting extra strain on an air control system already at breaking point. Some stressed controllers are deliberately avoiding phone calls on their days off so they can have a break.
A Qantas pilot, who declined to be named, compared the air traffic control situation in Australia to Africa.
"It's a bit backwards for a developed country like Australia," he said.
"The fact that nothing has happened is down to the pilots and the air traffic controllers doing the best they can with what they've got."
Airservices spokesman Terry O'Connor admitted there was a shortage of trained controllers, but he rejected claims of mismanagement and said safety was not at risk.
"We're aware of the issues they have raised. It's something that's been a potential concern for us for some months," Mr O'Connor said.
"But this suggestion that we're somehow trying to hide the situation is simply not true."
Peter Gibson, a spokesman for Australia's air safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, said he was not aware of a shortage of air traffic controllers.
"Shortages are the job of Airservices Australia to manage," Mr Gibson said.
"Our responsibility is to make sure whatever they do is done within the appropriate safety standards."
Airservices said that it had increased its intake of trainees and was looking at trying to attract controllers from overseas.
"Airservices Australia is a government-owned corporation that employs 90 per cent of Australia's air traffic controllers." Anyone know who employs the other 10 %? Are they hiring??
