Sir John Howard wrote:
> Staff off sick cause massive delays at Sydney air****t
>
> THE absence of three air traffic controllers who are on sick leave
> today has inflicted crippling delays on Australia's busiest air****t.
>
> http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23484291-5014090,00.html
>
> Air Services Australia, which manages air traffic control, said the
> absence of half of the rostered staff had caused today's delays at
> Sydney air****t.
>
> All domestic flights, inbound and outbound, are suffering delays of up
> an hour and will continue to do so for the rest of evening.
>
> An ASA spokeswoman said another controller had been called in to fill
> one of the ****fts.
>
> "This afternoon, three of our controllers from this terminal unit
> called in sick," the spokeswoman said.
>
> "One additional controller has come in," the spokeswoman said.
>
> "We expect delays will continue this evening, but not after this
> evening."
>
> She said the unit had been understaffed since about 3pm (AEDT).
>
> "We have fewer controllers than we'd have on a normal ****ft so we have
> had to reduce the number of arrivals and departures into Sydney to
> maintain safety."
>
> Six air traffic controllers usually manned the Terminal Control Unit,
> but the spokeswoman said only four were now handling operations.
>
> ASA could not comment if the high absentee rate was more than a
> coincidence.
>
> "I can't speculate about how this relates to a general shortage of air
> traffic controllers but we expect the situation that affects today's
> delays to not be affected after this evening," she said.
>
> Representatives from Qantas and Virgin had earlier said the airlines
> were not told why the delays had occurred.
>
> At 5pm, about 20 planes were being held on the ground or told to
> remain in holding patterns above the air****t.
boo hoo
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