Flight chaos caused by two air traffic controllers failing to show up to work

The true reason for widespread chaos at airports around the country with mass flight cancellations and disruptions has been revealed.

The true reason for widespread chaos at airports around the country with mass flight cancellations and disruptions has been revealed - two members of staff not turning up to work.

Two air traffic controllers who failed to report for duty at Sydney Airport on Monday are behind the disruptions.

Due to the two staff members’ absence, Airservices requested a ground delay program from 3pm until the airport’s curfew at 11pm.

This led to Qantas flights experiencing an average delay of 72 minutes, while Virgin flights were delayed roughly 95 minutes.

On Monday, Airservices requested a ground delay program from 3PM until the airport’s curfew at 11PM. Picture: AFP

The government agency responsible for staff, AirServices Australia, was grilled today by Liberal Senator Bridget McKenzie who did not hold back.

Senator McKenzie said it was “incredible that two people don’t show up for work and the entire country is shut down”.

“When Sydney experiences disruption, the whole country suffers and international travellers are also missing connections as a result of this,” she said.

Liberal Senator Bridget McKenzie. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Airservices Australia's Chief Executive Jason Harfield.

“I want to understand your response to this?” she asked AirServices CEO Jason Harfield.

Mr Harfield said two air traffic controllers had called in sick, which had resulted in the slowdown in flight movements in and out of Sydney.

Despite having “948 operational air traffic controllers”, Mr Harfield said they had not been able to replace the two who were sick on Monday.

He conceded flight delays directly attributable to Airservices had worsened since the Covid pandemic, when about 140 experienced air traffic controllers were given the option of early retirement.

Mr Harfield also faced questions about a workplace survey undertaken by Elizabeth Broderick, which showed bullying and harassment before Senator McKenzie challenged Mr Harfield to rate his own performance given his “million-dollar salary”.

He suggested a “B”.

A spokespesron for AirServices Australia told news.com.au “safety is always our first priority”.

“Airservices is enhancing its service resilience by recruiting and training more than 100 new air traffic controllers (ATCs) nationwide since 2020,” the spokesperson said.

“More than 70 new ATCs are due in FY2024 and a further 80 ATCs are projected to join us each year moving forward to add further depth to our ATC rosters.”

Regarding bullying claims the spokersperson said the organisation had zero tolerance for bullying, sexual harassment, harassment, or discrimination.

“We have refocussed our People and Culture Change Program to deliver on our commitment to changing our culture,” the spokesperson said.

“We will continue to deliver on our streams of work that will build a safe and inclusive workplace for all our people, every day.”