Concern over air traffic control stress
Leaked report suggest controllers are struggling to cope with workloads
Air traffic controllers struggled to cope with their workloads last year after they moved into their new headquarters, according to a report leaked to newspapers.
The Guardian this morning describes the leaked report from an independent safety committee at national air traffic services (Nats), which shows there were a record number of complaints about work “overloads” in 2002. Overloads are classified as “cases where controllers feel they have to many aircraft to cope with, or too many complex manoeuvres to judge”.
The report, which was initially leaked to Computer Weekly magazine before being revealed in national newspapers, states that one controller was “shaking all the way home and hardly slept that night”. One former air traffic controller warned the newspaper: “Overloads are potentially very dangerous situations. They mean people are not really in control of a situation.”
David Luxton, of the air traffic controllers’ union Prospect, added: “We are concerned at the increase in overloads and we are working closely with Nats to get to the root cause.”
Have your say Cancel reply
Subscribe/Login to Travel Mole Newsletter
Travel Mole Newsletter is a subscriber only travel trade news publication. If you are receiving this message, simply enter your email address to sign in or register if you are not. In order to display the B2B travel content that meets your business needs, we need to know who are and what are your business needs. ITR is free to our subscribers.
































France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt