Breaks in towers - need info
 

Hi, I am seeking verifiable information on how tower controllers in secondary airports in the UK take their breaks, particularily solo watch towers. Are there formal mechanisnisms where the tower closes for a set period of time to achieve a break or do they just grab a quiet moment to make a cup of coffee?

All UK ATCOs irrespective of operational task have to take at least 30 min rest for every 2 hours of operational duty. Any modification of this by the ATS provider has to be approved by the UK CAA.

In the UK it is called SRATCOH and can be found in CAP670 Section D part 2 page 1 onwards.

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP670.PDF

The document can be downloaded for free.

Country Boy...try locating someone from Eglinton City of Derry. They used to shut up shop on a regular basis to accomodate their breaks.

Thanks that document will be very useful to me. What I need to know now is how many "solo watch" control towers there are in the UK. Can anyone point me in the right direction to find this out?