Air traffic controller asleep on the job fatigued by night shifts, report finds

An air traffic controller who draped themselves in a blanket and slept on shift was fatigued by rostering issues and night shift, a report has found.

The Australian transport watchdog says standards need to lift after an air traffic controller was found asleep wrapped in a blanket on shift.

A report into the December 9, 2022 incident in Queensland was released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on Tuesday.

The air traffic controller was responsible for the Cairns region at the time they were found asleep, though they were working in Brisbane at the Airservices offices.

They were discovered by the oncoming day shift worker about 5am, laying across two chairs under a blanket wearing their plugged-in headset.

The office in the Brisbane Airservices office. Picture: Australian Transport Safety Bureau

There was no air traffic in the controller’s space when the day shift worker woke them, and no alerts displaying on their system.

But they were overseeing a host of far north Queensland areas during the shift where there are multiple planes used for tourism, agriculture, and various private or commercial uses.

The Cairns sector typically is very quiet between 1am and 5.30am, the report noted, and the last plane the sleeping worker had contacted was at 3.05am.

There were no safety issues on the morning the air traffic controller fell asleep. Picture: NewsWire / James Gourley

The report found the controller had worked two night shifts in a row, without the recommended rest period in between.

Rostering issues meant the controller’s shifts were being changed at short notice.

“As a result, cumulative fatigue was not being effectively managed strategically,” safety bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said.

The report noted the air temperature in the air traffic control room, and the lights, cannot be adjusted.

The worker had been employed by Airservices for 10 years, and had no medical history of sleep disorders.

But roster changes were likely the cause of the worker’s sleep debt.

Airservices Australia and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority will work together to try out a new fatigue risk management system.

Originally published as Air traffic controller asleep on the job fatigued by night shifts, report finds