Australia’s air safety watchdog, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), has called for reforms following a concerning incident in which an air traffic controller was discovered asleep at their desk. The incident occurred in December 2022 at the Cairns Terminal Control Unit (TCU) in Brisbane, where the staffer was overseeing operations from Airservices Australia’s Brisbane office.
The ATSB report, released on Tuesday, revealed that the controller had been found asleep while covering an early-morning shift. The staffer, who was managing air traffic from 10 PM to 6 AM, had worked a staggering ten night shifts over a span of twelve days. The report indicated that the controller was found lying across two chairs and under a blanket towards the end of their shift. At the time, there were no aircraft in the vicinity, and the exact moment the staffer fell asleep was undetermined.
The ATSB’s investigation highlighted that the controller’s fatigue was primarily due to the consecutive night shifts and an inadequate fatigue risk management system. Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell pointed out that the staffer’s extensive night shifts, coupled with reduced rest periods, significantly impaired their ability to achieve restorative sleep. The report also noted that the timing of the shift, the low workload during the night, and the staffer’s lack of mental alertness activities contributed to the incident. Additionally, the staffer may have experienced “sleep inertia” after waking up, which could have affected their decision-making abilities.
Mitchell emphasized that while the incident did not result in any negative consequences, it underscored the need for improvements in work scheduling and fatigue risk management. The ATSB report criticized the reliance on short-term adjustments to manage the airport roster, attributing this to a lack of resources within Airservices Australia. This approach, the report noted, failed to effectively manage cumulative fatigue and did not address the risks arising from the work schedule.
In response to the incident, Airservices Australia increased its number of air traffic controllers. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority also announced changes to its fatigue risk management system and is collaborating with Airservices to enhance their approach to managing staff fatigue. Mitchell urged other sectors within the transport industry to address fatigue as a critical safety issue, highlighting that despite growing awareness, it remains a significant concern for safe transport operations.
