Lack of air traffic control blamed for delayed and cancelled flights in Cairns

An international pilot claims up to 20 flights are being cancelled per week at one Queensland airport alone with international tourists being forced to drive to places like Cairns from Brisbane.

An international pilot claims up to 20 flights are being cancelled per week, on average, because of a shortage of air traffic controllers in Cairns.

The commercial pilot, who asked to remain anonymous, said Airservices Australia had issued voluntary redundancies during Covid and staff numbers had not returned since then.

It comes after Civil Air, the union representing air traffic control staff, said a lack of staff at the traffic control operator had left workers fatigued across the state.

Airservices Australia says the claims are not true despite the Cairns Airport and Australia’s aviation authority acknowledging “variations” in air traffic controllers in Far North Queensland.

According to the pilot, who is based in Cairns, the issue has been ongoing for months.

He said flights that were travelling through the Cairns airspace or landing in Cairns specifically had being cancelled.

“As one of the pilots who has to explain to passengers why their flight is late or cancelled, I really do think this is a national disgrace.”

His comments come after scenes of airport chaos in Queensland, including one where dozens of Jetstar passengers were left to sleep at the terminal overnight.

Among those caught up in the drama was a wheelchair-bound woman who was forced to sleep on an airport couch after coming out of hospital.

About 80 Jetstar passengers including children and pregnant women were stranded at Proserpine after a flight to Melbourne was grounded.

TOURISTS DROVE FROM CAIRNS TO BRISBANE AFTER CHAOS

Passenger of a cancelled Brisbane-to-Cairns flight on July 1, Damian Ehlers and his partner Lisa D’Agostini, decided to drive rather than wait two days for the next available flight.

The couple and their children were booked on the 9.30pm Jetstar flight to Cairns after arriving from Vancouver earlier that day.

But the flight was cancelled two hours before they boarded, and they claim an airline representative stated it was due to a lack of air traffic controllers.

Lisa D’Agostini and Damian Ehlers arrived for their Brisbane to Cairns flight when they were told it was cancelled due to problems with air traffic controllers. Picture: supplied

‘HOW CAN A COUNTRY LIKE AUSTRALIA NOT HAVE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS?’

“We didn’t believe it was real because how can a country like Australia not have air traffic controllers, and the worst part was there was no flight available for two days, other than one that stopped in Townsville for16 hours and cost $600 per person,” Mr Ehlers said.

While Jetstar refunded the flight, he spent $2000 on accommodation, car rental and food until they decided what to do.

“We decided to hire a car and drive the distance because that flight was not worth our money,” Mr Ehlers said

“I am an Australian flying home from Canada to Brisbane and then to Cairns with my Canadian family.

“I’ve been waiting seven years to come home and I think I’m going to cut ties with my heritage as an Australian as I am so embarrassed.”

According to the Airservice Australia website, it takes 26 months to become a qualified air traffic controller.

The Cairns Airport air traffic control tower. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“When someone calls in sick for another ‘busier’ airspace such as Brisbane, they close the airspace above Cairns, which covers Mackay up until approximately 400 km north of Cairns, to move that controller to focus on Brisbane,” the pilot said.

“It’s not only the commercial aircraft that use this space, the Royal Flying Doctor Service use the space too.”

The pilot said the lack of air traffic controllers had also caused significant delays to flights across the board.

“The only other country I can think of with these issues for air traffic control is Myanmar — it is essential to our country,” he said.

124 CONTROLLERS TOOK VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY

In a statement, Civil Air stated 124 air traffic controllers took the voluntary redundancy, or Retirement Incentive Scheme, around the country in July 2021.

“We estimate that RIS removed approximately 13.7 per cent of air traffic controllers from rosters around Australia,” the statement said.

Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker agreed the airport had been affected by the air traffic control issues.

“This can be particularly noticeable during busy periods, such as school holidays,” Mr Baker said.

“Flight cancellations are disappointing, particularly for travellers.

“Safety and the comfort of our customers are our priority.”

Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker says the airport has been affected by air traffic control issues. Picture: Brendan Radke

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesman said CASA regularly audited air traffic control facilities as part of a national surveillance program and was working with Airservices Australia to address service variations.

“CASA is closely monitoring and assessing closures of airspace to ensure that safety is not compromised,” the spokesman said.

An Airservices Australia spokesman denied claims that flight cancellations had been due to personnel issues, saying they had “complete” staff in Cairns.

“Airservices Australia is continuing to invest in our workforce across Australia, including by recruiting and training new air traffic controllers nationwide,” he said.

“Airservices is enhancing its service resilience by recruiting more than 50 air traffic control trainees nationwide in the next three months to add further depth to our air traffic control rosters.

“A total of 80 air traffic controllers are due in FY2024.”

Originally published as Lack of air traffic control blamed for delayed and cancelled flights in Cairns