Plazbot... the whole thing below class A was unmanned from 10pm till 5am....
i have not checked the daysheets so I cannot be 100% certain, but usually the reason why airspace underneath (i.e. G/E etc) is unmanned is because the only replacement ATC available is a "journeyperson" without all the ratings/endorsements for the airspace group.
so, what's a journeyperson? see below:
Making an Air Traffic Controller:
after a selection/screening process that takes anywhere from 6 to 12 months, followed by 9 - 12 months in the academy (longer if they are bumped to be tgo's for a RAAF course) it normally takes about 3 months to get the 1st rating.
so anywhere from 1+1/2 to 2+1/4 years to turn a suitable person with no previous experience into an ATC.
Then the journeyperson is supposed to consolidate for 6 months before going for any more endorsements.
And of course, the individual can fail out at anytime, and the timeline is reset back to zero with the next candidate.
This length of time (1.5 to 2.25 years) required for training is unchanged since TFN became CEO 4 years ago.
But it is only halfway through this year that he suddenly started ramping up training intake.
Now do you see why there is a problem finding people to keep airspace open?