ATIA CEO Dean Long has said that things “simply cannot continue” as they are at Airservices Australia, stating that Airservices needs to lift its performance “urgently”.
According to the ABC, Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp has been summoned to Canberra for emergency talks following a couple of near misses at Sydney Airport.
Yesterday, a Jetstar plane was forced to slam its brakes at Sydney Airport after the crew noticed a Qatar Airways plane was being towed along the tarmac by an aircraft tug. Both planes only avoided a crash by mere metres.
Two staff members were stood down pending an official investigation into what caused the near miss.
The near miss came after two Qantas planes narrowly missed colliding last month.
A shortage of air traffic controllers at Airservices Australia has caused significant issues of late, with many passengers facing lengthy delays over the past few weeks.
“Airservices Australia is the last major part of Australia’s aviation sector still struggling to recover from COVID. Airlines, airports and the broader travel industry have rebuilt their workforces and operations, but Airservices continues to be a major choke point for Australian aviation,” Long said of the issue.
“Staff shortages and processes that are not match-fit for today are causing significant disruption for airlines, airports, travel businesses and, ultimately, Australian travellers. Five years after COVID, this simply cannot continue,” he added.
Long said there needs to be more transparency around the issue at Airservices Australia so the issues can be fixed.
“Whether the answer is more staff, better training or improved processes, Airservices needs to lift its performance urgently and get the system operating at the level Australians and international visitors deserve,” he said.
