Waypoint to where?

Turbulence for Airservices amid staff shortages and technology delays

“Now, let me start by saying I don’t think our performance in some areas has been acceptable,” Airservices Australia CEO Greg Russell told the organisation’s annual ‘Waypoint’ industry conference in Canberra in late June.

The boss of Australia’s air traffic services provider was being typically frank in acknowledging the challenges facing his organisation that in recent times has been buffeted by ATC service disruptions, shortages of air traffic controllers, and high levels of absenteeism coinciding with a period of rapid traffic growth in the aviation industry, plus delays in implementing much anticipated technologies such as ADS-B and user preferred routes that could improve the operational efficiency of Australia’s airspace system.