I wonder how long CASA is going to bury its head in the sand. I can't believe they said there has been no safety issue when I know that lots of aircraft, including RPT jets, have been flying through TIBAs. I think Mr and Mrs Citizen would be alarmed to know that they were out in the ether......no safety problem though.
And staffing - jeeeze....AsA have been told for the last 2 or 3 years that this was going to happen. Now they play dumb and say that we didn't know, but will try and fix it. Too late people, the horse (or in this case, air traffic controller) has bolted!
The staffing problems and many TIBAs are the direct result of level 3 managers going ahead with the new SDE airspace against the better advice of the project managers to wait. The controllers too asked questions of how they were going to staff the newly designed sectors. Management answer - we'll do it with lots of overtime. They had to say 'YES' to protect their bonuses - don't want to look bad further up the chain, do we?
Well, the ATCs have had a gut full and have therefore opted not to take massive overtime and therefore give up time with their families and friends. No longer will the system be propped up by people trying to do the right thing by their mates - it has gotten beyond that now. A few years ago, people would cover shifts to ensure their mates, and the travelling public, were looked after. Now though, that good will has been lost.
The Service Delivery Line Managers should step down immediately and grab a headset. Either that, or should not be paid bonuses this time around. Bonuses are for performance.
Here's how you performed - poorly.
Pushing ahead against the informed, professional and accurate advice of your project team is not good.
Relying on overtime to cover KNOWN staffing issues is not good.
Constant airspace closures and the safety issues involved is not good.
Getting CASA to cover your ar$e is not good.
All time low morale leading to massive resignations an people wanting to leave is not good.
TFN - you must do something. You can't train your way out of it - the time to do that was 3 to 5 years ago when the organisation was told of the impending problem. No one in AsA management should be getting any bonuses until this is fixed. Whatever the ATCs ask for in the upcoming Certified Agreement negotiations, give it to them - they are the ones who deserve a bonus.
Thanks for reading.
Showa.