Originally Posted by
Lon More
If they are not controllers they must be supervising;
I have already commented on this. Please read what has been posted if you wish to reply.
another task they are totally unsuited for.
I am not in a position to make such a judgement. May I know the basis for your assertion?
The only reason they are in the Ops Room then is to intimidate
I do not know the details of their deployment, and specifically, I do not know who are in the control rooms or for what purpose. I would feel very concerned however, about having to fly in a sector under control of someone who needs intimidation to go to work. And no, it's not about the stress, it's about the lack of maturity shown by such a person. The former you can deal with, but the latter...
As for the hamster wheel comments elsewhere: I do know and appreciate the job controllers do, and I have in the past received invaluable assistance from them (and a bit of leniency as well on occasion
), and I have been to a few control towers both in Spain and other countries (France, Germany, and the Czech Republic). My impression comparing the levels of performance and professional demeanour of the three latter with the first has only reinforced my previous opinion based on service received at the other end of the mic/telephone.
I am genuinely interested to hear, Lon, about your experience visiting Spanish control centres and interacting with Spanish ATCOs, as you are much more qualified than me to form a valuable opinion. I do note that there appear to be huge differences in the level of performance of controllers depending on the regions, so please specify which centres you have been to (in my experience, in the South--Seville, Malaga, etc.--they are generally fine, and they get worse as one approaches Madrid and Barcelona).