Air Traffic Controller Shortages Trigger Delays at Sydney Airport
by Daniel McCarthy
Photo: Stepan Skorobogadko / Shutterstock.com
A shortage of air traffic controllers hit another country on Friday, as Australia’s busiest airport fell victim to what’s becoming a perpetual global shortage of ATCs.
Eight of the 49 ATCs at Sydney International Airport (SYD) were unavailable on Friday due to long-term absences, forcing authorities to cut the inbound schedule into the airport to manage the shortage. According to authorities, the absences were unplanned, which made it impossible to stay on schedule. The delays and cancellations came mostly in the morning, and flights were back on schedule by the afternoon.
According to FlightAware, just about a third of the inbound flights into Sydney were delayed on Friday.
The incident is yet another on a growing list of worldwide air travel disruptions, and safety concerns, directly caused by ATC shortages.
In Australia, the staffing gaps at Sydney Airport have coincided with some runway near-misses under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Internal records later revealed that several ATCs on duty during those close calls were flagged under “high-risk fatigue categories,” which has drawn scrutiny from the country’s government.
ATC shortages have plagued U.S. airports for years, including stretches during past government shutdowns where ATCs worked unpaid for weeks. Growing the number of qualified, active ATCs has been at the heart of Department of Transportation priorities. However, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, roughly 40% of ATC facilities still operate below recommended staffing levels.
In Europe, there have been strikes by ATC unions in France, Greece, and elsewhere over the past couple of years that have led to hundreds of flight cancellations and stranded thousands of passengers, mostly during the peak travel season.
And, just last week in the U.K., a tech failure by its ATC caused close to 2,000 flights to be canceled, as delays and cancellations in London, Manchester, and more caused cascading impact across Europe.
