View Full Version : Saudi Arabian ATC
JJflyer
22nd Nov 2007, 09:07
The other night I heard a JED controller giving hard time to a flight. Rude obnxious, nasty, unprofessional bad mannered and non-standard are a few words that come into to my mind. Very much the same attributes that these people show on all walks of life.
Have I just been in the right place at the right time to hear this type of behaviour from Saudis or is this a more common occurance.
kuwait340
22nd Nov 2007, 09:34
i am sure nothing for nothing...
the controller wouldn't do this unliss something went wrong...i mean seriouslly wrong.
tuan74
22nd Nov 2007, 10:13
Really...???:eek: ... Not just because you ask him again to confirm..???:rolleyes::rolleyes:
_FL600_
22nd Nov 2007, 11:12
Hey JJ,
guess you were the one being hammered, huh? :hmm:
JJflyer
22nd Nov 2007, 12:08
Not me this time. But yes I have been at the receiving end before.
PHAROH
22nd Nov 2007, 12:16
can you be more specific ?
is it the behaviour or the Saudis ?
London's Control
22nd Nov 2007, 12:25
Typical of Saudis ;)
GOOKJR
22nd Nov 2007, 12:55
Anytime you corner one they will react like that. Their culture revolves a lot around having 'face', and not losing it in the public domain i.e. air traffic control.
Merely 'insinuating' incompetence or mistakes in any PERCEIVED way will lead to a reaction.
Remember, in the 'Magic Kingdom', perception is reality...
saudi arabian atc is the worst atc I īve ever seen!believe me!they donīt care about anything!they lie very often and they are always right, it is horrible!
Reminds me of a story where a Saudi crew told Riyadh ATC that they had TCAS traffic, controller told them, no traffic, this was repeated a few times until the crew actually saw the military traffic pass them.
An argument started between the pilot and ATC which ended with the pilot getting called a "son of a b****h"..... Things went very quiet until the crew landed, the pilot then had the ATC arrested for insulting his mother. This turned into a huge saga involving highest level officials, in the end, the ATC had to offer an apology for the insult.
Nothing about the lack of professionalism, but dont ever insult someones mother :)
Mutt.
_FL600_
22nd Nov 2007, 15:36
Most controllers in Jeddah FIR are really in need of big improvement, especially in their attitude. and talk about landing in Jed. Man, their vectoring sucks.
However, the ones in Riyadh are kinda ok....
Uh, well...we'll just fly it off :bored:
Approaching JED not long ago, the controller asked...
EAN4126, can you maintain 190 knots until 5 miles final?
Replied: 210 if you like, were a TriStar.
ATC: Ah yes, I see you are a TriStar, sure do miss those, maintain high speed, thank you, call the tower.
Saudi ATC is no better nor worse than others in the area.
Ah yes, Captain Berenji...aka, flame 'em out at Philly Berenji:E
Gp Capt Bhanerjee
23rd Nov 2007, 02:10
Mr. Mutt sir:
Quote:
Nothing about the lack of professionalism, but dont ever insult someones mother
Kindly provide explanation how it is possible to tell one female camel from the other. Thank you, please
London's Control
23rd Nov 2007, 10:34
Bahrain ATC has nothing to do with that. It's Saudis airspace and thats how they want it. We just follow :}
JJflyer
23rd Nov 2007, 12:34
Hi Mutt.
I have fwd the email address to the person concerned. I've asked him to Email the safety department should he think it is an safety issue as I do see it as one. Thanks for that.
Malcontento'
28th Nov 2007, 09:44
The rudeness is almost a daily occurence when flying in Saudi. There are of course some professionals, but as soon as you get away from Riyadh you never know what you are going to get. When asked to report over a position - you may call five or six times with no answer, then a few minutes later the controller will come back and demand an explanation as to why you did not check in.
We've been given a parking position in Jeddah a few times, confirmed the position, taxied to the position and then been screamed at because it was not the right one. The last time it happened I told ground that he should listen to the tape - then nothing but silence. No apologies ever or even the admission that the mistake was in fact theirs. The other day we were given a landing clearance 15 minutes before arrival into a Northern airport, as the tower said that they would be gone to pray at our estimated arrival time... It is a culture suited to the control of camels - not airplanes. Their rudeness and lack of understanding of what it is that they are supposed to be doing is unequaled anywhere else in the world.
typhoonpilot
28th Nov 2007, 11:39
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I quite enjoy flying across Saudi Arabia. It's one of the easiest airspaces around. Check in on one end of the FIR; switch frequency halfway across; and then bye bye. Almost always get directs when I ask. Jeddah approach does tend to give a tight vector for 34C, but hey no big deal when you're expecting it.
If you want bad try the Calcutta-Dhaka-Yangon transition. Talking constantly on the radio ( VHF/HF ) for the better part of an hour. :ugh:
TP
maddog62
28th Nov 2007, 14:12
Yap...agree 100% Typhoon....:D
Chow,
mad
bus canuck
28th Nov 2007, 15:20
Me too. I love flying in Saudi.
Now Indian HF...ARRRRGGGGGHHHH:ugh::ugh:
Like everywhere you get unpleasant fellows on both ends. However, I have personally found most of the Saudi ATC's over the years to be fairly pleasant and polite. In fact I recently had one of the most friendly and polite ATC's I have ever heard when entering Jeddah airspace coming from the South. We were actually sorry to leave his airspace!
Now the Indian ATC's as someone mentioned..........could start a new thread on those characters!
AI744
29th Nov 2007, 09:01
yes...and just like the ATC I didnt understand what you were trying to say either.
coolbreez
29th Nov 2007, 10:38
HI to all I have been monitoring this thread for a wile I believe that all the people that have a genuine concern about the safety,professionalism and attitude of the Saudi ATC personal, should wright to their Safety dep, flight standard dep, chief pilot and the controlling agency of their respective air line's. We the pilot's in Saudi Arabian Airlines have lunched an official compliant withe above mentioned department's not too long ago,we are still witting for the ripely or action.:hmm:
ExSimGuy
2nd Dec 2007, 12:12
We the pilot's have lunched an official compliant
I hope the compliant official enjoyed the lunch :\
we are still witting for the ripely
You mean having laugh at the ripe date?
Sorry, shouldn't take the p1$$ . . . . My "Arabic" would make you laugh far more ;) - But I just couldn't resist the temptation. Would worry me more but the previous comments about Riyadh refer to my "home base" - I rarely fly (as a pax) into JED.
Good luck in getting something done :ok: