Confessions of an Air Traffic Controller

Every landing and take-off is a personal ‘job well done’

When most people think about air traffic control, what probably comes to mind is the image of men and women in a glass tower. Few people realise that we make or break the ground beneath their feet.

Till a few years ago, when it was all under the Airport Authority of India, apron control was an easy job. The number of flights was low, we had enough time between landings and take-offs to check things at a reasonable pace. Suddenly, it seems like someone has hit the turbo button and we have no choice but to keep up or get out. They have fancy new lights on the runway, but if a single screw on even one of them pops loose, it could spell disaster. No ATC apron can live down such an accident.

Sure, we are all happy to see the boom in aviation, but those many aircraft in air means more vehicles on the ground, from those ferrying passengers, crews or maintenance staff to the baggage vans. Recently, a jeep was parked on the side of the runway. The next thing you know, an aircraft wing hit it during landing. Didn’t cost lives, but it did cost a job.

With privatisation, it’s like going from driving a truck to being the driver of a Mercedes. It looks good, it’s smoother, slick even. It’s also more efficient. But there’s also the stress. Since it’s a contractual system, you know it will not take much to get you fired. The family business has been taken over.

The biggest thrill of the job is watching all those landings and take-offs. It used to be around 650 to 700 earlier, but now, because of recession, we only get to watch around 450 or so a day. British Airways is the best to watch. The planes look good, the pilots are superb, landings and take-offs are flawless.

Sometimes, when you have a quiet moment, you think about your job and a bit of fear always creeps in. Fear that your smallest negligence, oversight or carelessness can cost a life, and often many lives. That ghost of that loose screw or bit of rubber left behind on the runway never lets you breathe easy until the flight is safely mid-air or has come to a complete halt. So, in a way, every landing and take-off is a personal ‘job well done’.

This airside personnel has been on the runway for 18 years, of which he spent 10 years at Mumbai airport

About The Author

Aliefya Vahanvaty