Air Traffic Control … another voice in your headset!
For safe and efficient air travel there are a huge number of people who bring each of our journeys by air together. It all works like clockwise and often the passenger has no thought about what is taking place behinds the scene to keep them safe.
While pilots and flight attendants are highly visible, other important and highly skilled folk who support aviation are not so visible. One group we pilots work closely with are Air Traffic Controllers. I once heard a controller colleague describe their work as "safely moving members on a chess board."
Our guest for this Blog article is Karl Taylor - manager of Auckland Sector at the Christchurch Air Traffic Control centre based in Christchurch. It is my pleasure to introduce Karl's article and know you will both enjoy and learn about this important role in aviation.
Karl Taylor
I grew up on a dairy farm in the middle of Taranaki without any aviation exposure apart from the occasional helicopter flight when the local ag operator was doing spray or fertilizer work on the farm. At the age of 8 years old I did however get taken to the RADAR centre and Tower whilst visiting an Aunty in Wellington by a friend of hers.
From that day on I knew what I wanted to do and after a couple of years at University, the Ministry of Transport started advertising for ATC trainees again and following some interviews and a day of “testing” in Wellington I started my career in Oct 1986 having just turned twenty.
I have worked in Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga and Auckland Towers before joining Auckland Approach RADAR in 1999 and becoming the Team Leader of this sector in 2010.
Despite probably talking on the RT to John many times over the years I did not meet him until his last flight with Air NZ flying from SFO to AKL where I was a passenger returning from a ski trip.
Air Traffic Control in New Zealand, both military and civil, is provided by Airways New Zealand, a state-owned enterprise established in 1987. Prior to this it was provided by the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Division.
Airways has approximately 900 employees including Technicians, Software Developers, Flight Information Officers, admin staff and around 350 Air Traffic Controllers. It’s worth noting that the number of controllers has remained fairly static over the past 40 years or so. Where new technology has reduced the head count in the cockpit, for Airways it has allowed controllers to be able to handle more planes!
To hold an Air Traffic Controllers license you need to be 21 years old, be considered “Fit and Proper” in the eyes of the CAA and hold a Class 3 medical (which is similar to the pilots Class 1 but the renewals are less frequent). Aside from recruiting experienced controllers from overseas during periods of staff shortages, Airways runs its own selection process and trains approximately 20 controllers per year. The training takes about 12 to 18 months, of which 9 months is at the Airways campus in Christchurch and the remainder of the time is spent “on position” usually at a Tower working traffic with an experienced controller (Instructor) watching over you. You are not paid whilst doing the initial training but you can get the student allowance and a student loan to cover the estimated $23000 course fee. A first year Tower controller will earn in excess of $100000 pa.
There are two types of Controllers, ones that work at the airports in Control Towers aptly named Tower Controllers, and ones that work in either the Auckland or Christchurch RADAR centres called RADAR (or Surveillance) Controllers. Most controllers in NZ start out at a domestic airport and once you have qualified you work a solo shift although some of the Towers have two or more controllers on during busier times of the day.
The work at domestic airports varies quite a bit and just like a pilot at a third level airline you become a bit of a “jack of all trades”. I remember working in Hamilton (before the internet) when we used to get the 5-day weather forecast. The local farmers used to phone up wanting to know what the weather was going to do, if they should cut their hay or not and where the “isolated showers” were going to fall. In hindsight I think some of them just wanted someone to talk too! I also remember one poor man wanting access to the tower who had just severed the tops of his fingers on one hand while trying to prop start his home-built aircraft. First aid administered and an ambulance called. All of this happening while you’re also controlling planes.
After several years at a Domestic Tower, you can move to either an International Tower or an Area RADAR position in Christchurch or Auckland. Whereas the airlines operate a seniority system for promotion, Controllers use a bid system where you place your name on a list for the job you want on the next salary step and positions are offered based on who placed their name first. The final job you can bid for is Approach RADAR Controller which are all based in Christchurch. Approach Controllers look after an area about 50nm around the main airports and the Area controllers look after the flights in between.
New ATC Centre in Christchurch
I currently lead a team of 28 Approach controllers who look after the airspace within 50 miles of Auckland airport. In addition to looking after flights at Auckland International we also look after the Whenuapai Airforce base, Ardmore and North Shore General Aviation airfields and a number of other heliports and aerodromes that have Instrument Approach procedures e.g., Auckland Hospital, Parakai etc. Between the hours of 6.30am and 8pm we have three positions operating and then down to one position through the night. Arriving flights get transferred onto our frequency 50 miles from Auckland and our job is to arrange a landing sequence for all inbound flights using some or all of the following; a variety of arrival procedures called STARs that put aircraft on different distances to touchdown when joining final approach, speed control, putting aircraft on RADAR vectors i.e., assigning headings for them to fly and finally as a last resort, giving aircraft orbits or putting them in holding patterns. Once aircraft are about 10 miles from landing, we transfer them across to the Tower controllers who are looking after the Runway and its vicinity. Departing flights call us on the frequency as soon as they’re airborne and we get them onto their flight planned route weaving them under, over or around the inbounds. In addition to these scheduled flights, we can also deal with the Police and Westpac air ambulance helicopters, multiple parachute operations, military and civilian flight training, survey aircraft and others. We are required to keep all flights either 3 miles horizontally or 1000ft vertically apart unless the pilot is able to sight and follow another aircraft.
Planes on our screens are displayed as various symbols (normally triangles) and we attach labels to the ones in controlled airspace which shows us the aircraft callsign, type, wake turbulence category, altitude, ground speed along with a few other bits of useful information. We can also bring up what altitude the pilot has set as their selected flight level to make sure it matches what we’ve cleared them to as well as the pilots indicated airspeed to make sure they’re flying at the speed we’ve given them.
RADAR Datablock
So, what are the working conditions like? The RADAR centres are kept at a constant 21 degrees 24 hours a day and the Control Towers are similar with the added advantage of watching the sun rise or set. If the thought of sitting for 12-15 hours in a cockpit without even having a holiday when you get to the destination sounds a bit tedious the controllers shifts are only 7.5hrs long which can be extended to 9.5hrs maximum if unforeseen events occur e.g., short notice staff shortages. RADAR controllers can work a maximum of two hours at any one position before being required to take a break and all controllers work on a one day off for every two days worked ratio. Most rosters work 4 days on then 2 days off but some choose to work 6 on 3 off or a 5 on 2 off, 5 on 3 off cycle. You know what days you’re working at least 6 weeks in advance and we don’t have a standby system like pilots. If we choose to go to work on a day off to cover a missing shift, we get paid double time for the day.
Another bonus is being able to swap shifts with workmates if they’re willing, so that you can keep your social life on track and once you unplug your headset at the end of a shift there is nothing left to do. No deadlines or paperwork to complete, and you don’t have to think about work until you start your next shift. We also have available a system of “part time” work when staffing allows, i.e., you choose what percentage you wish to work. 50% means you may work 4 days on then have 8 days off. Some work 75% and whichever you choose your pay is adjusted accordingly.
The ATC license is recognised internationally, with controllers in my team having worked in Australia, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Ireland and Hong Kong before returning to NZ. Airways offers sabbaticals when staffing allows that means you can take up to 5 years off work and you’re guaranteed a job on return at the same pay scale you were on when you left having only interrupted as opposed to broken service in terms of calculating long service leave, retirement leave etc.
RADAR controller work station
You don’t need to be a pilot to do ATC but plenty of controllers do fly, some owning their own planes or having shares in one or more. I’ve worked with people who used to fly for the major airlines but wanted a bit more job stability, as well as one who juggled their ATC shifts while also flying for an airline. Some do part time corporate flying or flight instruction as well as all the different types of general aviation flying. While not a pilot myself I have done “cockpit familiarisation” flights at the invitation of pilots in everything from hot air balloons and gliders up to the Airbus A380 and a NASA C141 Starlifter along with a lot of types in between.
The future of ATC is looking fairly interesting, Airways is in the process of upgrading its operating system which will see us move into new RADAR centres this year. Passenger carrying drones are also about to become a reality with Christchurch being one of the first places in the world where some operators are going to trial the integration of drones into a controlled airport. Digital Towers may be just a few years away where the information comes from hi-definition cameras and displayed on screens could mean Tower controllers won’t need to climb stairs to get to work!
