Sydney Airport is facing departure delays after a shortage of air traffic controllers prompted Airservices Australia to introduce measures to manage traffic at the country's busiest airport.
Airservices Australia said on Wednesday that departures were being slowed to prevent overcrowding and maintain safe aviation operations. The measures were introduced due to rostering requirements, according to media reports.
“ATFM measures were implemented due to rostering requirements.”
“Airservices acknowledges and thanks our dedicated controllers for their professionalism and work through this challenging period.”
Controller shortage affects Sydney operations
Airservices Australia said it was working to keep delays at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport to a minimum through Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) measures.
The corporation is also updating its Sydney scheduling system and working with airlines and unions to recruit and train more standby air traffic controllers.
Passengers have been advised to check the Sydney Airport website for the latest departure information.
Delays come amid aviation safety investigations
The disruption comes as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigates three separate safety incidents at Sydney Airport within several weeks.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell acknowledged similarities between the incidents but said they would be treated as separate cases.
He noted that in most instances, pilots had identified the risks and intervened before the situations escalated.
“It is a concern to us that it even got to that stage.”
“In all three cases, a line of defence kicked in, as it should, to stop this situation from escalating,” he said.
Controllers and crews questioned
One of the incidents occurred while a training session was taking place inside the Sydney Airport control tower. Two passenger aircraft subsequently came dangerously close to each other, following another near-miss at the airport earlier that day.
Two Airservices Australia staff members have since been stood down in connection with one of the incidents.
ATSB investigators are interviewing air traffic controllers and flight crews and collecting recorded flight data as they examine the circumstances surrounding the incidents.