Air Traffic Control (#27)

Airbus predicts that more than two million new technicians, pilots, and cabin crew will be needed over the next twenty years. If you think that's a lot, this number doesn't include many important supporting and facilitating roles needed to keep aviation flying. Literally. Recruitment is a major challenge for every sector of the aviation industry, including Air Traffic Control (ATC). I've asked Nicola Ni Riada , ATC Officer at AirNav Ireland , to share her thoughts on the biggest challenge in ATC right now.

Nicola Ni Riada joined the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA, now AirNav Ireland ) in 1994. She works in Shannon en route centre as an area controller, both upper and lower airspace. She is also an OJTI, instructor and human factors actor.

Nicola is the professional representative and International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations ( IFATCA ) liaison officer on the IATCA Ireland board, representing Irish Air Traffic Controllers in many fora. She was appointed the IFATCA Communications Coordinator in 2023, and is also part of IFATCA’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and the IFATCA2030+ Task Force.

Nicola is also part of the ETF Women in Aviation Working group, the aviation section diversity group and part of the ATM section. As well as her international work she has a focus at home on recruitment and promoting the ATCO career. Nicola has a primary degree in English literature, a Master’s degree in Organisational Psychology and a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies.

What is the biggest challenge in ATC right now?

By Nicola Ni Riada, Air Traffic Control Officer at AirNav Ireland

It is clear that worldwide right now the biggest challenge in Air Traffic Control is staffing. There is a significant shortage of Air Traffic Controllers in most countries. And air traffic is increasing all the time. It is easy to blame this staffing shortage on poor recruitment by employers, the Covid pandemic, high attrition rates in training or low applications as people move away from ‘job for life’ careers, or even the unappealing nature of shiftwork. All of which may be true!

But what if the biggest recruitment challenge is actually the invisibility of the role of the controller? Most people outside of the aviation sector have no idea what air traffic controllers do. If you tell them, it often is a polite blank stare. If they guess, it’s usually to confuse us with ground Marshalls. Or if they have seen movies like ‘Airplane’ or ‘Pushing Tin’, they might imagine a tower controller. Almost no one really thinks of an area/radar controller. There is also a perception of ATC, and perhaps aviation as a whole, as being a male-dominated profession.

So, when we go out to recruit new Air Traffic Controllers that’s the first barrier- trying to explain what it is we actually do. How we describe it at the most basic level, is that we keep aircraft safely apart in the skies and on the ground at our airports. The reality is significantly more complex of course!

The next challenge is trying to persuade people to apply. The perception that ATC is very stressful, busy and complex prevails. The most common question I am asked at recruitment events- isn’t that really stressful? My answer is always that nothing is stressful if you know what you are doing! Air Traffic Controllers are exceptionally well trained, for the most part, licenced, competency checked each year, given both team-based and emergency/unusual circumstances training. In my life, ATC is the only thing I do that I am wholly confident in- I was NOT given this level of training for motherhood or any other element of my life!

It is worth noting that the training is not easy, we do have high attrition rates (which vary from state to state). It is rigorous because safety is always our number one priority!

So how do we mitigate the challenge of recruiting the right talent pool to meet future staffing needs in Air Traffic Control? Albert Einstein said, ‘If you do the same thing over and over again you cannot ever expect different outcomes.’ We need to critically assess how we recruit. In my opinion, we need to significantly increase the visibility of the career. We need to advertise it in areas we have traditionally not ventured into. That means looking at new mediums, like TikTok or Snapchat. We need visible and active role models for young people on all social media channels. This may involve collaborations with celebrities. It requires us to think outside of the normal recruitment boxes. We also need to think more diversly! Do we specifically target those pools of people often excluded from the sector?

After more than thirty years as an Air traffic Controller I can say without doubt it is the best job in the world. No two days are the same and I learn something every day. I work with some of the best people and job satisfaction is high. I am always happy to extoll the virtues of the career with anyone who will listen! But maybe it is time to do so in a more structured and visible way?