So we can all keep this bantering / complaining / purse fighting going on or we (DXB/AUH) can try to do something to fix it... It's been far too long that we've been blaming management, the color brown, some Danish guy who's not even here anymore, and anything else we can think of, for all the drama and cat fights we give each other on a nightly basis.
Here's a really scary example of how quickly we could fix most of the problems we argue about every day.
We Dubai, would NOT ask for less then 5 minutes through Maxmo. Ever. Tower would know not to bother to start everyone, because the chance of UAE accepting less then 5 minutes would be = None. Is it expeditious? Nope, but do we have the staff / procedures / equipment to be expeditious? Nope!
Conversely, on the night shifts, 20miles inbound through the straight in gate, and 15 through the non straight in gate. Inbounds through Maxmo are co-ordinated as to where they fit in.
It would certainly upset me sitting in arrivals seeing guys in the hold with no need for it, but do we have the staff / procedures / equipment to co-ordinate individual spacing for inbound ac with UAE? Nope. Our own procedures tell us we're not supposed to. But of course we want to be expeditious, and it ends up getting everyone pissed off at each other when it doesn't work out properly.
If we just did those 2 things, 2 small things, we would end about 90% of the fights we get into with each other.
Some on both sides (myself included) will say "why hold guys when there is no reason to?" Or "Why delay start ups when there is no reason to?"
1. Our procedures tell us to, and we technically are breaking our procedures to do anything else,
2. We (UAE and DXB) do not have the ability to co-ordinate on an adhoc basis. Sorry but on a unit level, we just DO NOT. This post is a testament to that. If there was a dedicated planning position on both sides, with an open hotline between each other and experienced people on both sides of the line, I think together we could co-ordinate the outbound/inbound flows to a very high level of expedition, as high as possible given the equipment and procedures we have. But we don't and I don't think will for a while.
3. It is the only way things will get changed. (Procedures / Staff / Equipment)
Also, if some AUH and some DXB controllers (preferably from as many different watches as possible) got together somewhere outside of work, and made some "between actual controller" agreements, as to what we do(for example the 2 things mentioned above), I think this place could become a much safer, happier place to work in. That would involve maybe a couple of off hours for the people concerned, but it would go a long way in inter-unit relations, no???
If we couldn't come to an agreement, at least we can just beat the hell outta each other with our purses, and argue about paycheques, and who does the most work!