Sydney near-miss puts spotlight on fatigued air traffic controllers

Internal records and a call recording reveal that several air traffic controllers on duty during a near-miss between two Qantas aircraft at Sydney airport in July had been flagged as facing a high risk of fatigue. The incident, which occurred on July 27, involved a landing Qantas turboprop narrowly avoiding a Qantas Boeing 737 that had been cleared to cross the runway.

Of the ten controllers on duty at the time, five were rated "H" for high fatigue risk under Australia's fatigue-management system. One was rated "M" for medium risk, and one was rated "L" for low risk. The remaining three were not ranked as at risk of fatigue.

In an internal call after the near-miss, a controller shift manager described the staffing situation as "a bit insane," noting that five controllers on the morning shift were high-fatigue. He added that while the aircraft did not collide, the proximity was alarming and left the team rattled. Two of the three controllers directly involved in the incident were reportedly high-fatigued, and the third was medium-fatigued.

The fatigue-management system does not measure actual fatigue but uses an automated assessment of factors such as workload and scheduling to estimate risk. Depending on the rating, controllers may face mitigation measures like longer breaks, limits on traffic volumes, or early shift endings.

Civil Air President Scott Nugent, whose union represents about 85% of Australian air traffic controllers, said an increasing number of shifts have been assessed as carrying elevated fatigue risk in recent years. He noted that short staffing leads to more overtime, fewer days off, and increased fatigue. Controllers told the wire service that staff are routinely permitted to continue working despite high fatigue-risk ratings, and that heavy traffic and staffing shortages make mitigation difficult.

Airservices Australia, the government agency employing the controllers, declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating all six near-misses at Sydney Airport in about a month to determine if they share common safety issues.

Globally, there are no uniform rules governing controller duty hours. Under Airservices Australia's enterprise agreement, controllers can work up to 10 consecutive shifts and are capped at 80 hours during a continuous run. By comparison, controllers in Canada can work up to eight consecutive days and those in the United States up to six. Longstanding staffing shortages in several countries have resulted in controllers frequently working overtime.