Happy Air Traffic Controller Day

The International Day of the Air Traffic Controller is an important tribute to the air traffic controller who strives each minute to give the utmost in service to the flying public, to bring you safely and efficiently to your destination

The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA) was founded on 20 October 1961 and today represents more than fifty thousand air traffic controllers in 126 countries.

13 Characteristics of an Air Traffic Controller

Air traffic controllers are super humans. Well, almost. How else are these professionals able to maintain safety and order in the increasingly busy skies above us? Sure enough, there are tools to help get the job done, but the human element is an important piece of the puzzle and cannot be ignored. Here are a handful of characteristics that air traffic controllers must possess 

1. Spatial awareness – the ability to mentally build a three dimensional picture of where each aircraft is relative to the others and to foresee any potential conflicts is one of many characteristics an air traffic controller must possess
2. Simultaneous capacity – multitasking ranks in the top tier of characteristics that air traffic controllers must possess. Reading instruments, transmitting or receiving and writing simultaneously are just part of the routine of controllers on duty
3. Excellent memory – the task of controlling aircraft requires air traffic controllers to remember both distant are recent events, even thought these may be aided by memory joggers. The multiplicity of air traffic control tasks competing for attention can easily interfere with one’s ability to remember
4. Making decisions under pressure – air traffic controllers must think faster than an aircraft can fly if they are to keep safety in the air. Decisions cannot be postponed when working live traffic traveling at speeds as much as 8 miles a minute. Every wasted minute brings conflicting aircraft dangerously close to one another
5. Respect for authority and the rules – aviation is a highly regulated industry, which requires adherence to maintain safety. Regulations are the products of many years of industry experience and conventional wisdom and are undoubtedly superior to any single person’s judgment. 
6. Exercising effective personal authority – the word “control” can only have meaning if air traffic controllers exercise their authority effectively. Being resolute earns a controller respect and gives pilots confidence in his/her ability
7. Paying attention to details – “never assume, determine” is a phrase that air traffic controllers have repeatedly heard, and is synonymous with getting the details right. Like making quick decisions, the lack or wrong assumption of some detail can lead to dire consequences.
8. Visual-motor coordination – try playing a video game without this ability… the result will be a resounding defeat. Controlling air traffic is like a complex video game, except that real lives and millions of dollars worth of aircraft are involved. Radar controllers and aerodrome controllers particularly must rely of visual-motor coordination for observing traffic and issuing instructions accordingly.
9. Teamwork skills – a chain is as strong as it’s weakest link. That said, air traffic controllers must work together like the proverbial chain to maintain the safe and orderly flow of traffic. One blunder in the order can replicate itself throughout the chain. The defense mechanism in place, however, is often sufficient to stymie the development of any problems
10. Tolerance to frustration – this is easier said than done, but controllers cannot allow extraneous issues to interfere with their performance. When a controller enters an ATC unit, he must check all annoyances at the door if he is to carry out the exacting tasks ahead on his watch.
11. Willingness to accept criticism – an observer on the outside looking in is likely to be at an advantage, and criticism of from him/her should be accepted. It is likely that controllers can achieve the same objective using different methods, so it is wise to accept other points of view
12. Resistance to boredom – boredom leads to complacency.

the controller is made the scapegoat and the head of organization

Whatever happens to a controller held responsible for an accident has to be far less punitive in nature than the head of that particular organization providing air traffic control services. Because when a controller fails, the system fails. The controller is only a part of the system. Therefore, the actual person responsible for the failure of the system is its head. But unfortunately, in some jurisdictions, the controller is made the scapegoat and the head of organization, goes scot-free

General hustle and bustle and people sitting in front of radar screens with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths

that’s what many people think it’s like inside an air traffic control tower.

But the reality is very different, explained AYED GABSI, who’s been an air traffic controller at Tunis carthage and Enfidha hammamet  for 24 years.

The 49-year-old took time out from guiding aircraft into land at one of the busiest airports in tunisia - it handles about200 flights a day - to give MailOnline Travel the inside track on his job – and he revealed that many people are almost disappointed when they visit the tunis carthage control tower.

Air Traffic Control System

Air Traffic Control System is one of the most essential parts of air transport system. It provides air traffic control services to aircraft in various phases of its flight like taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, approach, and landing. It is the responsibility of air traffic controllers to prevent collision between aircraft on ground and in the air

latent conditions

Some of the conditions conducive to an accident / incident, on the part of an individual controller, are as under:

· Stress

· Boredom

· Confidence and complacency

· Fatigue

· Needs at work

· Attitude

It is the responsibility of the head of an Air Traffic Control organization to identify and remove the above latent conditions before they result in an accident or incident.

ATC don’t have enough staff

Conquering the capacity crisis IATA suggest passenger numbers could double to 8.2 billion in 2037,how will we manage the global ATC growth.

Urgent action must now be taken by the DNA otherwise thousands more flights and millions of passengers will be disrupted, particularly in the peak months of July and August, unless this ATC staffing crisis is addressed.

we urge the DNA to take decisive action to resolve this issue on behalf of all our passengers, ahead of this summer’s busy travel season

Addressing the national shortage of qualified air traffic controllers

1.     Promoting collaboration between OACA and BOJ EL AMRY to implement recruitment and training strategies to keep up with the anticipated growth.

2.   Exploring advanced training stimulators as cost-effective way to prepare and test air traffic controllers

3.   Utilising technology to make up the shortfall in human resourcing. Machine learning and automation

Fatigue

Based on ICAO Annex 11 Amendment 50-B and ICAO Doc 9966oversight of fatigue Management Approach, the 2nd Edition, The guidance materials shall provide two kinds of Fatigue Management approaches

Based on fatigue survey and analyses results, the consultant shall provide the following documents:

1 Prescriptive approach – to provide the working hour limitation regulation draft for Air Traffic Controllers of Category I and II.

2 Performance-based approach – to specify if the Service Provider adopts this approach, how the State could approve the Fatigue Risk Managements system of the Service Provider, and provide the above-mentioned regulation draft for approval.

3 If the above-mentioned fatigue survey and analyses results indicate that authority’s ATC shift roster implantation regulation is too loose or insufficient, the consultant shall provide the amended draft and complementary measures (i.e. mitigation measures)

ATC don’t have enough staff. The situation is particularly acute at weekends where Tunisian ATC providers are hiding behind adverse weather and euphemisms such as “capacity restrictions” when the truth is they are not rostering enough ATC staff to cater for the number of flights that are scheduled to operate.

The consultant shall provide the to-do-list and regulation for State and the Service Provider respectively in terms of the above mentioned two methods. The consultant shall introduce Civil Aviation Authority’s ATC shift implementation regulation , air traffic service personnel on night shift turning into the stand-by operation regulation, the shift manpower numbers, seats arrangement, rotation seats’ job responsibility and each control seat’s control flight numbers for airport Area Control Center, Tower, Approach