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Air traffic control via satellites is a step closer after Skykraft conducted a “world-first” trial of the technology. The test used the same Very High Frequency (VHF) band traditionally employed by ATC, but that currently can only be accessed in the range of a ground-based radio.
Industry professionals have reached out to Australian Aviation anonymously in the wake of recent stories about the situation at Airservices, particularly after comments by the Australian Federation of Airline Pilots (AFAP) earlier this month.
The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) has told Australian Aviation that its members have encountered “chronic” and “systemic” staffing problems at Airservices dating back to before COVID-19. It comes after reports emerged earlier this year that there were 340 instances of “uncontrolled airspace” from June to April 2023, with Airservices admitting to “staff availability issues”.
Civil Air accused the organisation responsible for managing Australia’s skies of a “constant reliance on overtime”, which it argued had led to tiredness and work/life balance issues among employees.
Launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California, the prototype is part of a program partnering with Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) on a space-based solution to track aircraft and provide global communication between pilots and air traffic control irrespective of a plane’s location.
The incident on 29 April occurred when a flight departing for Brisbane was cleared to take off on Sydney’s parallel runway 16L at the same time as a flight arriving from Queenstown was landing. Each plane was carrying around 170 passengers.
