Exciting times and more progress
The first decade after the change of the political system in Hungary brought home the realization that Hungarians had a peculiar interpretation of democracy. Instead of making use of opportunities, they immediately started abusing them. They interpreted freedom as being a license to do anything with laws being just a necessary evil which one did not have to observe but rather find cracks to avoid them. Slowly but surely the country slipped into a chaotic state and Ferihegy airport was no different.
Each of the specialized services gained a lot of independence and they started to issue their own rules and procedures, most of which were of course in contradiction with what the others were doing. This was the reason why the tower also had to start negotiations with the other services and to develop common positions and provisions. Obviously, this was far too much work for a single tower boss and so the Aerodrome Control Centre was established under the leadership of SP. This unit incorporated the tower division, the met observer division and the engineering division. The tower division had its own boss in the person of GC. So it was SP and GC who started the negotiations at the end of 2000 with the other services, including the ramp and the airport coordination service.
The Letters of Agreement that were generated as a result helped make the whole operation much smoother and even the handling of emergency alarms became much better coordinated. This was none too late as the airport had by this time become the favorite target of a population enjoying its newfound “freedoms”. There was a period when different services and airlines received bomb-threats almost every day and we had to take each of these very seriously. The summit was reached when two Malev flights received bomb threats on the same morning! Both had to return and taxi to the remote position earmarked for this type of event…. The emergency crews could then go about their business unhindered. Most of the calls were of course false alarms and there was a lot of debate about when to initiate an alert and when not. This was a very sensitive issue and most airlines were also upset when their aircraft was surrounded by fire engines upon landing. The debate goes on to this day and I do not think there is a good solution. If an aircraft reports some kind of technical glitch, we will always alert the emergency services except if the pilot expressly states that they do not require assistance. If, afterwards, he lands with half of his wing missing, that is his business.
Since 2000 we practice on the simulator together with the firemen and the airport supervisors. This is very useful for all concerned and I must say alerts are handled very smoothly as a result. We had several events but luckily none were particularly serious. Landing with only one engine operating, landing gear problems, but this latter was mainly due to gear status indicator problems rather than actual gear issues. Of course it was always spectacular when something like a 737 made a low pass over the tower and we craned our necks together with the experts trying to determine whether the gear was in the proper locked position.
Those ten years brought plenty of unique highlights. We had an opportunity to welcome poor old Concorde, when she took off the noise was nothing short of phenomenal. I watched her go from the tower balcony and the noise was enough to blow your ears off as she applied take-off power.
The visit of the Red Arrows for a show in Ferihegy’s airspace was also a memorable event. Shift change could not take place on time because
the airport was sealed hermetically while the show lasted. Blocked at the entrance gate, we watched the magical maneuvers performed by those red birds.
Having the US Air Force tanker fleet base itself at Ferihegy was a special experience in itself. During the Yugoslav wars they called Ferihegy their home for two extended periods and they fit into the airport’s operation like a glove. The only special treatment they required was a bit more time before take-off, we had to calculate this into the equation. They were parked on the ramp at Terminal 1 and we never stopped wondering how they could fit so many big aircraft in such a small area. Of course it was a question of organization, nothing more, but we were light years away from that sort of skill back then. More recently it is the low cost airlines who park in a similarly efficient manner at Terminal 1.
Last but not least I will mention once again the small aircraft which were also capable of serving up some amusing moments. Two of Hungary’s world famous pilots, Peter Bessenyei and Zoltan Veress never failed to dazzle us with a kind of mini-show when they came to Ferihegy. After our stint at Siofok, the police helicopter crews we learned to know there would reward our waving from the tower with a few graceful dips left and right whenever we invited them to pass by the tower with the words: We will wave!
At times like that I did not regret not having made it to approach control. You never see these kinds of spectacles from there.
To be continued…