Australian travel industry boss slams organisation reponsible for air traffic control

The head of the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has hit out at the lack of professionalism being displayed by the organisation that operates air traffic control and navigation at major airports.

Airservices Australia is an Australian Government-owned corporation, responsible for providing services to the aviation industry and it has overseen two recent near misses at Sydney Airport.

“Airservices Australia is the last major part of Australia’s aviation sector still struggling to recover from Covid," ATIA CEO Dean Long (right) said in a media statement.

"Airlines, airports and the broader travel industry have rebuilt their workforces and operations, but Airservices continues to be a major choke point for Australian aviation.

“Staff shortages and processes that are not match-fit for today are causing significant disruption for airlines, airports, travel businesses and, ultimately, Australian travellers. Five years after Covid, this simply cannot continue.

“There needs to be far greater transparency from Airservices about what is driving these ongoing problems and, most importantly, a clear plan to fix them.

“Whether the answer is more staff, better training or improved processes, Airservices needs to lift its performance urgently and get the system operating at the level Australians and international visitors deserve.”

ATIA is the peak body representing Australia’s $70.6 billion travel industry. It represents the majority of Australian travel agents, corporate agents, tour operators, wholesalers, and ITOs.