Led Zep et all:
Almost 1000 pilots are facing delays of two months or more to receive the medical certificates they need to fly because of a mammoth backlog within the aviation regulator’s new online medical portal.
About 170 pilots are also within 14 days of having their medical certificates expire — which will *effectively ground them and put them out of work — as the backlog continues to grow and slow down the processing system.
The logjam was created with the introduction of Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s online medical records system, which has been in operation since March 21. The new system was meant to streamline the application process and create a repository of pilot medical records for future use but teething problems with the system has instead created a slowdown that is now affecting hundreds of pilots.
The new system is processing about 1700 medical certificates a month, down from the 2000 a month that the old system was capable of issuing.
The delays mean there is now a backlog of about 900 pilots who are being told to expect waits of two months to receive their certificates. In about 400 cases, some are being told the wait is even longer.
Under the old system, the average processing time for Class 1 medical certificates — which are issued to holders of Air Transport Pilot Licences, Commercial Pilot Licences, Multi-crew Pilot Licences and Flight Engineer Licences — was 17 days.
But that time has now blown out to an average of 20 days as pilots and doctors come to grips with the new system.
The average processing time for Class 2 medical certificates (for student pilots, private pilots and balloon operators) is taking 27 days and Class 3 medical certificates (for air traffic controllers and flight service officers) about 21 days.
One pilot who contacted The Australian — but asked to remain anonymous — has had to wait six months to get clearance for a Class 1 Medical certificate and has lost work as a result of the delays.
“It’s been a total ‘fubar’. I’ve missed out on some jobs because this is hanging over my head,” the pilot said.
An investigation by The Australian prompted the Australian Federation of Air Pilots — the largest industrial and professional association for commercial *pilots in Australia with over 3500 commercial pilots — to survey its members about issues with the new system.
The response rate on the survey set a record for the AFAP which has collated 19 pages of complaints about the system. In total, some 69 per cent of the 312 respondents to the survey have reported problems and major delays with the new online system.
Many of those surveyed pilots reported around a seven- to eight- week wait to receive their medical certificates, while the most severe cases had seen waits of up to four months.
The most common complaints about the system are that it is slow or not working, recurring glitches resulting in incomplete applications and payment problems.
“My company has been on my back about the expiry and renewal and told me that if my medical expires they will stop paying me until it is renewed,” one pilot said.
“All the while, CASA is still sending me emails reminding me that my medical expires within 60 days, and what the renewal process is. I have done everything required to renew it, well ahead of the expiry date.”
CASA has acknowledged the problem and is shifting additional staff into its aviation medicine branch to cope with the strains on the system. Changes are also being made to workflow practices to improve turnaround times.
“Some medical certificates are taking more time to process. CASA apologises to pilots who have been waiting longer than normal for their medical to be *finalised and thanks everyone for their patience,” a CASA spokesman said.
“Anyone who considers they are facing hardship due to a delay in medical processing should contact CASA as soon as possible, and assistance will be provided.”
The aviation regulator is also prioritising medical certificate *applications where the current certificate is due to expire within 14 days.
“There are more than 400 medical certificate applications that have been lodged for eight weeks or longer. In the majority of these applications CASA requires further information from the applicant and/or specialist medical reports,” the CASA spokesman said.
Story: Mitchell Bingemann - Aviation Editor, The Australian.
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