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Pickersgill Air traffic controllers walk off job, flights threatened
AIR TRAFFIC controllers at the Norman Manley Airport in Kingston walked off the job yesterday, protesting against the faulty equipment they have to work with, threatening operations at both international airports.
Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill was meeting with them up to press time last night, in a feverish effort to broker a resumption by today.
The 30 controllers, members of the Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Associ-ation (JATCA), are based in Kingston, but their action could also affect flights in and out of the Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Dis-locations were avoided yesterday as a few controllers stayed on and were joined by management staff.
The controllers say that they are dissatisfied with their faulty radio equipment, which makes it difficult for them to communicate with pilots. They say that the radios, which are maintained by AEROTEL, a subsidiary of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), have been malfunctioning for the past two years.
The JATCA had threatened to take industrial action in a statement issued Saturday.
"Due to an ongoing and worsening problem with the radios/frequencies at the Kingston area control centre, that has been adversely affecting communication between pilots/aircraft operators and air traffic controllers at this unit, the JATCA will be instructing its members to withdraw their services at this unit effective February 24, 2002 from 1:00 p.m.," the statement said.
Last night's meeting was also being attended by Colonel Torrance Lewis, head of the CAA, Patrick Sterne, director for Air Navigation Services at the CAA and senior air traffic controllers.
The radios in question are used to communicate with pilots flying into Jamaica's air space and have varying ranges of up to 200 miles. The Norman Manley Airport may have to cancel some of its 110 daily flights today if the strike continues.
Last November, faulty navigation equipment and bad weather were blamed for a near accident at the Norman Manley Airport involving Air Jamaica Flight 010. The aircraft on which the Transport Minister was a passenger, missed the airport runway and almost landed in the built up Hope Pastures community several miles away. An investigation is ongoing into that incident.
Meanwhile, air traffic controllers are due to begin training shortly on how to use the $1.1 billion radar equipment that was installed over a year ago but never used. A US$2.9 million contract was signed with United States-based Boeing in January to conduct the training, but it has still not started.
