Sydney Airport Fatigue Investigation

Internal records reveal Sydney airport near-miss involved air traffic controllers flagged for high fatigue risk.

Several air traffic controllers on duty when two Qantas aircraft nearly collided at Sydney airport in July had been identified as high-fatigue risk, according to internal records and a call recording obtained by Reuters. The incident, which occurred on July 27, was the first of six near-misses at Sydney Airport in about a month. Of the 10 controllers on the duty that were on duty that day, five were rated "H" for high fatigue risk under Australia's fatigue-management system, one was rated "M" for medium risk, and another "L" for low risk. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating these incidents to determine whether they share common safety issues or contributing factors. Civil Air President Scott Nugent, whose union represents about 85% of Australian air traffic controller, said an increasing number of shifts in recent years had been assessed as carrying elevated fatigue risk due to controllers getting less rest and working longer hours. There are currently no uniform rules on how long air traffic control can remain on duty, with countries required to develop their own fatigue-control programs.

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