Controller shortage delays Victoria flights
An AAP report says that a shortage of air traffic controllers had delayed flights out of Melbourne on Sunday night, Qantas says.
Flights leaving Melbourne between 8pm and 10pm (AEST) were delayed by about 15 minutes, while services from Sydney to Canberra also were affected, a spokesman for the national carrier said.
A total of 17 flights were affected and planes were diverted around uncontrolled air space northwest of Canberra.
“Qantas re-routed a number of services to fly around that air space,” the spokesman said.
No Qantas flights were cancelled and pilots remained in control of planes at all times, he said.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesman Peter Gibson said Australia had a shortage of about 20 air traffic controllers.
“Sometimes when controllers call in sick they simply don’t have people to back-fill those positions and that means they have to close some sectors for short periods of time, up to a couple of hours,” he told ABC Radio.
“They can either fall back on a set of procedures which revolve around the pilot broadcasting traffic information… so that other aircraft in the area can work out where they are and keep safely separated or the other choice is simply to fly around or delay the flights.
“Different airlines generally make different decisions on this.
“It depends very much on the time of day, how much traffic there is, a whole bunch of other factors.”
A spokesman for Melbourne Airport said no airport operations were disrupted during the two-hour period.
A Report by The Mole from AAP
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports