Several air traffic controllers on duty during a July near-miss at Sydney Airport had been flagged as high-fatigue risk in internal records, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. The incident involved two Qantas aircraft and has sharpened scrutiny of staffing levels, fatigue management and safety oversight in Australia’s busy air traffic control system.
Five of the 10 controllers on duty were rated high risk, while three controllers directly involved in the event were marked as two high-risk and one medium-risk in the internal discussion cited in the report. A shift manager later described the staffing situation as “a bit insane”. Australia’s fatigue-management system estimates risk using factors such as workload and scheduling rather than measuring actual tiredness.
The July event was the first of six near-misses at Sydney Airport in about a month, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the incidents. The Reuters report drew on internal records and a call recording that had not previously been made public, adding detail to concerns over controller shortages and overtime pressures that have affected air traffic operations in several markets.