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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0095.PDF
YOUR VIEW. An open letter to J. J. S. Marshall, chief executive of BAA SIR—We, the undersigned, oppose the British Airports Authority's proposed takeover of air traffic services at Glasgow Airport. We consider that such a move will be contrary to the best interests of all airport users and will have a detrimental effect on the national ATC system. We call on all commercial and recreational flying interests at Glasgow Airport to consider carefully the consequences of such a move. Glasgow ATC provides a safe, efficient, and flexible service by employing an experi enced workforce, who regularly rotate through the operational positions. The increasing demands of scheduled and charter movements make it increasingly difficult to accom modate recreational and flying training, but we believe we provide a fair and expeditious service to all users and, in particular, to the fare-paying passenger, who ultimately pays our salaries. The complexity of the ATC system at Glasgow (the UK's fourth-busiest airport) should not be underestimated, demanding high levels of skill and expertise. These skills are not gained overnight, and need to be nurtured and developed if the quality of the service is not to be downgraded. Note care fully, we are concerned about quality of service—let us not be accused of scaremongering about safety. Any ATC system, no matter how inefficient or poorly manned, can be made safe by punitive flow rates and by artificially limiting traffic movements. However, it would not be in Glasgow's interest if the appointment of inex perienced controllers and engineers precipitated such an outcome. Is this really the future you want for an airport with such growth potential? The ATC system needs to be more productive, not less. National Air Traffic Services (Nats) already has well- advanced plans for improve ments to the system, notably the introduction of secondary radar (SSR) in 1989 and new primary radar in 1990. The workforce has co-operated in a signifi cant programme of staff reduc tions and revised working practices (16 per cent reduction in Atcos, 23 per cent reduction in support staff), which will further enhance the produc tivity gains already achieved through significant increases in traffic movements. We have little doubt that your own expansion plans are reflective of your confidence in Glasgow's future and give a clear indi cation that movements will continue to rise for the fore seeable future. Since you have made no move to recruit ATC staff, it would seem -fair to assume you expect, or take for granted, that a sufficient number of the current Nats staff will fall over themselves to become employees of BAA Pic on April 1. While the CAA is not the most benevolent employer in the country, we are confident that "better the devil you know" will be the maxim Nats staff will follow. You will find the accu mulated experience of ATC personnel at Glasgow impos sible to replace in the short term, and very difficult to replace in the longer term given the current and projected shortage of Atcos in the UK. We urge you to think again and stick to what you know. We do not write for fear of redun dancy, as the CAA has guaran teed jobs for all Atcos, air traffic engineers, and air traffic assis tants. We write because we are concerned about the impact on the national ATC service as a whole, > and of the potential degradation of service at Glasgow in particular. We do not claim a divine right to provide the ATC service at Glasgow. Put the contract out to tender—let us bid for it in the open market. We are lean and fit enough to provide the best service avail able, not only to meet Glasgow's current needs, but to serve what should be an exciting period of expansion. Finally, and most impor tantly, you should be aware the signatures appended to this letter represent 93 per cent of Nats staff at Glasgow Airport. JOHN McKAY and 93 Nats staff at Glasgow Airport Flightdeck forum SIR—I was interested to read Harry Hopkins, flight-test of the Boeing 747-400 (Flight, November 12). One of my projects as an undergraduate at Lancaster University is investigating the reaction to, and any problems associated with, the intro duction of a technical change within an organisation. Of particular interest to me is the revolutionary two-man flightdeck being introduced by Boeing and, specifically, the replacement of the human factor, the flight engineer, by the engine indicating and crew alerting system. I am attempting to address the issue mentioned in the closing sentence of the article: whether the system is an adequate replacement for the flight engineer. I would be interested to hear the opinion of any flightcrew, and also those of management, with respect to their confidence in the system replacing the flight engineer. Some of the questions I would like to ask include: do they feel the system will be able to deal effectively with unanticipated events as well as the F/E?; will the two pilots be overloaded in emer gencies, i.e. are three pairs of eyes, ears, and hands better/ worse than two and a system?; is the technical change inevitable, and a decision to be made by management alone?; have the flightcrew been consulted in the decision to adopt the system?; should they be?; what difficulties do they foresee in adopting the system, and how do they expect to overcome them? I would be extremely grateful for any opinions on these and any other issues which the parties involved feel are important. All responses would, of course, be treated in the strictest confidence. RICHARD REYNOLDS C/o Grizedale College University of Lancaster Bailrigg Lancashire LAI 4YW England WHAT'S ON January 18 RAeS Brough Branch/ IMechE, lecture, "Airship Industries", by I. Reed. 7.00 p.m., Beverley Bar, Museum of Army Transport, Beverley, Yorkshire; tel: 01-499 3515. January 19 RAeS Birmingham and Wolverhampton Branch, lecture, "Concorde—engineering performance during 13 years in service", by J. Lattimore. 7.00 p.m., Goodyear Tyre Co., Bushbury, West Midlands. Tel: 01-499 3515. January 24-25 Frankfurt Air Travel Symposium, "European Air Transport Policy—opportunities and limits of liberalisation". Rhine-Main Airport, Frankfurt. Contact: Information Office, Flughafen Frankfurt/Main, D-6000 Frankfurt/Main 75, West Germany; tel: 069/6 90 53 51. February 6-8 FSI course, "Principles of Troubleshooting", Hurst, Texas. Contact: FlightSafety International, 100 Moonachie Avenue, Teterboro, NJ, USA; tel (201) 939-1810. February 6-8 FSI international procedures course. Teterboro, New jersey. Contact: FlightSafety Inter national, Marine Air Terminal, LaGu- ardia Airport, Flushing, NY 11371, USA; tel: (718) 565-4120. •. , ?\ February 13-14 USC course, "Communicating Effectively in the Multi-crew Cockpit". University of Southern California, ISSM, Profes sional Programmes, 3500 South Figueroa Street, Suite 202, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA; tel (213) 743-6523. February 13-15 FSI international procedures course. Houston, Texas. Contact: FlightSafety International, Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, Flushing, NY 11371, USA; tel: (718)565-4120. February 15-16 USC course, "Legal Aspects of Aviation Safety". University of Southern California, ISSM, Profes sional Programmes, 3500 South Figueroa Street, Suite 202, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA; (213) 743-6523. February 1S-19 Avia Manila, aviation and airport support exhibition and conferences. Press preview: 11.00 a.m., Feb 14; trade: 10.00 a.m., Feb 15-18; public: 10.00 a.m., Feb 18-19. Viilamor Air Base, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Contact: PESO, 4/F Vernida IV Bldg, 128 Alfaro Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, MM, Philip pines; tel: 8173418; or Airport Exhibitions, 4 Roumelia Lane, Bour nemouth, Dorset BH5 1ET, UK; tel 0202 304641. February 26-March 17 Iamti 3-week course, "Management of Aviation Security". Contact: lamti, 2001 Univer sity, 20th floor, Montreal (Quebec) H3A 2A6, Canada; tel: (514) 843-6116. June 5-8 CNES international symposium on the Cospas-Sarsat satellite-aided search and rescue system. La Villette International Conference Centre, Paris. Contact: Socfi, 14 Rue Mandar, 75002 Paris, France; tel: (33) 42 33 89 94. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 January 1989 37
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