Sleeping Air Traffic Controller Marks Staffing Crisis in Australian Aviation
A sleeping air traffic controller discovered at his desk in Brisbane has highlighted the ongoing labor shortage in Australia’s aviation sector, Bloomberg reports, citing a safety investigation report released Tuesday.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) revealed that the controller was found dozing at the end of his night shift on December 9, 2022, slumped across two chairs in the operations room, wearing his headset and covered with a blanket. At the time, he was solely responsible for managing flights approaching and departing Cairns Airport.
The ATSB concluded that the controller’s fatigue was a result of consecutive night shifts and a low workload on that particular night. While the incident did not result in any accidents, investigators identified a lack of resources within Airservices, the organization responsible for managing Australian airspace, as a contributing factor.
The report stressed that the shortage of air traffic controllers, a global issue exacerbated by the pandemic, has left some airport towers unmanned in Australia, forcing pilots to rely on their own navigation. Airservices is working to address the staffing shortfall, but it has acknowledged that the roster for northern Queensland, where Cairns is located, will not be fully staffed until October.
On the night of the incident, only one aircraft was scheduled to arrive and depart Cairns Airport after 2 a.m. The sleeping controller, a veteran of Airservices with approximately 10 years of experience, was awoken by the day shift manager, who confirmed that no aircraft were in the area before handing over to another controller. The ATSB was unable to determine the exact time the controller fell asleep but noted five periods after 2 a.m. with no logged activity where he may have been asleep.
