The Greek Cypriot head of Nicosia Air Traffic Control, which under international law is responsible for supervising the airspace over the island as well as a large slab of the adjacent eastern Mediterranean, says there have been near misses and that the number of incidents is growing.

"We've had a couple of very bad incidents," said Nicosia air traffic chief Haris Antoniades.

"We had a very, very serious case about 18 months ago," Antoniades told AFP.

"There was a Russian flight coming from the Egyptian airspace, flying through Nicosia to Turkey, to go to Russia, and then we had another flight coming south.

"Because of the intervention of Ercan, there was a near collision when one of the two pilots requested a different level," he said referring to the airport in the breakaway north where Turkish Cypriot controllers are based.

"It was a real mess."

Antoniades said the number of flight "incidents" was on the rise -- up from 390 in 2006 to 458 last year.

Dear All,
I am working on a Risk Management project  about the   consequences in an  ATC due to a Power loss. I'd appreciate any input about the subject.
Thank you all in advance
Osny

Humans are in a constant march to push back the boundaries of the unknown, including their fascination with speed. Commercial supersonic transport (SST) began in 1976 when the Concorde entered service, and remained for the next 27 years. READ MORE

Airport Madness 2 is an improvement over the first version, with more runways, levels and features. Knowledge of air traffic control is not required. Manage takeoffs and landings to avoid collisions and minimize delays. There are two airports to choose from, with the choice of playing a levels-based game, or a continuous-play game. Play game NOW!

In three accidents (one collision on the ground, one accident involving fuel exhaustion and one controlled flight into terrain), over 800 people lost their lives. What these seemingly different types of accidents had in common was that, in each one, accident investigators found that insufficient English language proficiency on the part of the flight crew or a controller had played a contributing role in the chain of events leading to the accident. In addition to these high-profile accidents, multiple incidents and near misses as a result of language problems are reported annually, instigating a review of communication procedures and standards worldwide. Read More

Travelers are facing delays at Greek airports after air traffic controllers launched a work-to-rule protest, demanding more staff and new equipment.
Controllers started the protest this week and declared 24-hour rolling strikes beginning Sunday — a move seen as largely symbolic because air-traffic strikes are easily challenged in court.
The government says it cannot satisfy the demands because of Greece's serious financial crisis.
The government is locked in dispute with labor unions over austerity measures. On Wednesday, employees at the state-run Hellenic Postbank protested in Athens against a proposed takeover by private Piraeus Bank. Striking hospital doctors also rallied against cost cuts in the National Health Service.

The absence of nearly half of Barcelona's air traffic controllers at the weekend, most of them taking sick leave, caused major flight delays in the region, Spain's airport and air traffic authority Aena said on Monday.

"The absence of 28 controllers... at the Barcelona control centre, which is 46% of the staff, caused delays in air traffic in the Mediterranean zone" on Sunday, Aena said in a statement.

These "major delays" affected the airports in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands that include tourist hot-spots Majorca and Ibiza, and the Valencia region.

"Out of those 28 absent, 24 cited medical reasons," Aena said, adding that each case was being investigated by the social security services.

Transport Minister José Blanco’s decision to send in military air traffic controllers to replace their civilian counterparts engaged in “clandestine strike action” could "backfire on a government" that is reluctant to legislate on the right to strike, reports Madrid daily ABC. Over the past few weeks, large numbers of air traffic controllers have gone on mass-sick leave for stress or depression, causing chaotic delays to flights at the peak of the tourist season. The conservative daily believes that "the excessive number of controllers calling in sick is certainly suspect," but the plan to impose “such enormous responsibility” on military personnel will result in "serious legal and technical problems.”

A strike by air traffic controllers in France is causing serious disruption to domestic and European flights.

In Paris, one in five flights from Charles de Gaulle airport were cancelled on Wednesday, while half of flights from Orly are grounded.

Air France said the flights affected are short and medium haul only. Long haul should take off as normal.

Disruption is expected at most French airports due to the strike, according to the civil aviation authority DGAC.

The action - the third major airport strike in France this year - is scheduled to run until 0400 GMT Thursday.

Budget airline Ryanair have called for the government to deploy the army to ensure airports are kept open despite the strike.

The company said the government should "intervene in future strikes...if necessary by calling out the French military to operate air traffic control".

There have been fewer delays than expected at El Prat airport in Barcelona today, Sunday, as air traffic controllers have used absenteeism to put pressure on AENA management ahead of talks on pay. 28 of the 61 controllers failed to turn up for work, with 24 of them claiming medical reasons for their absence.
Delays of less than an hour have resulted on three international flights during the morning, although there were longer delays in the afternoon.

There were also problems in Alicante and on the Baleares. At El Altet there have been delays of 99 minutes in as many as 21 flights, as a consequence of the action by the controllers in Barcelona. In Palma eleven flights have been cancelled, ten of them international services, and again the reason given is the lack of personnel in Barcelona air traffic control.