Air traffic control staff are entitled to unlimited sick leave, while a small number of absences can overwhelm the workforce, which suffered a large exodus during the COVID pandemic.
There were mass flight cancellations and nationwide delays at Sydney Airport in February 2024 after just two staff members called in sick, as workers scrambled to control movement on the tarmac.
Airlines for Australia and New Zealand chairman Graeme Samuel, whose flight to Melbourne has been delayed by more than 90 minutes, hit out at Airservices Australia’s “outrageous” conduct on Thursday.
“This has to stop, it’s frankly getting nonsensical … it’s all going wrong, and it’s all attributable to air traffic control,” said Samuel, the former ACCC chair who spoke to the Herald while his plane was grounded on the tarmac.
“You can only use COVID for so long. We’ve had two to three years, and if Airservices haven’t got its act together in that time, then something is awfully wrong.”
Airservices Australia said recruitment remained a top priority, and it had added 91 air traffic controllers in 2025.
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