Clarification re Williamtown Air Traffic Controllers
In an Open Letter to Channel Seven by
Harry Howard, a former Military Air Traffic Controller, Harry states:
“On the Channel Seven Sunrise programme on Monday morning, Dick Smith also stated that RAAF Controllers were ‘concrete minded people’”.
In fact, I
didn’t say this. I actually made a number of positive comments about the Controllers.
Here is the actual transcript of the pertinent sections of the Sunrise program Harry is referring to:
David Koch:
So you’re blaming the Air Force a bit for this?
Dick Smith:
Well, well, absolutely, because for thirty years, I and many others have tried to get this changed. For a start, the Controllers - the Air Force Controllers - are as good as any in the world. But the rules and the Airspace they use are thirty years out of date.
A little later David Koch asks if the restriction of flight planning over Williamtown is for security reasons. I answer:
If it was for security reasons, they would allow you to put in a flight plan so that they know you’re coming. See, you’ve got to understand the Controllers are fantastic. If they can let you in they will. But in this particular case, they didn’t know about the plane until, suddenly they were called by the Flight Service Officer. They then have to put the information in and try and organise a separation. They didn’t have advanced knowledge, because even today you’re not allowed to put in a flight plan that flies over the airspace.
A little later, Kochie says:
So what do they say to you, when you go to them and say, hey you’re way behind the times?
And I reply:
I’ve sat at meetings with the head of the Air Force - this is ten years ago. They all said, yes we’re going to fix it, no problems, we’re going to fix it. It’s never changed. There’s something wrong, I think on the Air Traffic Control side. In the Military, there are concrete minded people there who just won’t move to modern procedures.
If any of the Willi Air Traffic Controllers believe that I believe it is the Air Traffic Controllers who are concrete minded, then I absolutely apologise. I have never thought this. Work face military Controllers I have spoken to want to move forward and get some modern procedures. I should have made it clear that it is the decision makers on the Air Traffic Control side in the military who will not allow any change. Work face ATCs clearly can't change airspace design and procedures and I have never thought they could.