Australian air traffic controller found sleeping on job regulator calls for reforms

A report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has raised several safety concerns and a labour shortage in the aviation sector while probing an incident in which a Brisbane air traffic controller was found asleep on the job. The report, which was made public recently, recommended reforms to workplace safety following a safety investigation into the 2022 incident.

The incident occurred two years ago at Brisbane’s Cairns Airport, and the person was the sole controller responsible for flights approaching and leaving the airport to the north. However, much to the surprise of airport officials, the controller was found asleep on two chairs at 5.15 am on December 9, 2022.

There were, however, no untoward incidents due to the controller dozing off. According to the investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the employee was fatigued due to multiple night shifts in a row with “reduced extended rest periods”. The employee found sleeping, the report revealed, had completed 10 night shifts in 12 days.

The ATSB has called for improvements to work scheduling and fatigue risk management. The report also listed other factors that played a role in the incident, including labour shortages in the sector.

The report also noted that since the incident, Airservices Australia, which is responsible for managing Australian airspace, has increased the overall number of air traffic controllers.

In the report, the ATSB chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell, said fatigue remained one of the most “relevant ongoing concerns for safe transport” despite increased awareness.

“We urge transport operators to investigate fatigue events to identify and remedy deficiencies in work scheduling, fatigue risk management processes and risk controls,” The Guardian quoted Mitchell as saying.

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