Back in the early 70s I was the vice-president of the Hungarian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (HATCA) and we were busy searching for a good slogan for the association. In the end, we decided to use an adapted version of the slogan put out by the Canadians: “Air Traffic Control means you will have a… Continue reading Air Traffic Control – Your Safety in the Air? Or something more…
Tag: controller
The Great SID/STAR Phraseology Fiasco
Most of us find the workings of ICAO pretty strange. The constant repetition of States’ sovereignty, with its assumption that they actually know what they are talking about, is quaint, rather than obviously dangerous. The glacial speed of progress, with timescales measured in years for quite minor textual changes, can be exasperating, but nothing is… Continue reading The Great SID/STAR Phraseology Fiasco
Women in Air Traffic Control
My original article about the difficult road women wanting to become air traffic controllers (and commercial pilots…) faced in the early days seems to have struck a chord in several parts of the world. First there was Aminda’s lovely contribution from the Philippines then Evon Russel contacted me on Facebook with a link to an… Continue reading Women in Air Traffic Control
The long and winding road – women in the cockpit and the control tower
To-day, nobody bats an eye at the sight of a four-striper with long blond hair and lipstick hauling her flight case like her male colleagues do. Even an all female crew in the front office is commonplace these days. A female voice on the control frequency is also quite normal now in most of the… Continue reading The long and winding road – women in the cockpit and the control tower
20 October – ATCO day
The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) was founded on 20 October 1961 by 12 European national ATC associations. On its 20th anniversary on 20 October 1981 IFATCA decided to name the day “the day of the controller” and ever since member associations have celebrated 20 October as the International Day of the… Continue reading 20 October – ATCO day
New series on Roger-Wilco. The tower with a soul…
If you enjoyed reading the sometimes incredible stories in Same Time, Same Place, Same Level…, keep your seatbelts fastened! The last part of Same Time having just been published, we are bringing you a new series under the title: The tower with a soul. This will be the story of the first 25 years in the… Continue reading New series on Roger-Wilco. The tower with a soul…