<<What are controllers views, can a unit like this one as being down can a unit operate without and assistance be it an ATCA or ATSA??>>
Very sorry but I cannot understand this.
"Can a unit like this one as being down can a unit...." What does that mean, please?
<<A quote from a NATS colleague (A good assistant can be worth there wait in gold when things get very busy)>>
I think you mean "worth their weight in gold"? The ATCAs I worked with in NATS were worth their weight in gold ALL the time, not just when it was busy and I held them all in very high regard.
Problem is that technology is taking over many tasks so humans are not needed in such numbers. When I started at Heathrow the Approach Room had 8 operational positions for ATCOs. I believe at Swanwick they now get away with 3 or 4 and shift almost twice the amount of traffic.