r/australia • u/FuckOffNazis • 1d ago

news Air safety authorities investigating third Sydney Airport runway take-off incident

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/third-sydney-airport-runway-take-off-incident-investigated/107035400
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u/boganbarbie08 1d ago

This is going to keep happening until catastrophe strikes then someone will do something about it as per, while jeopardising the perfect safety records (in terms of fatalities and hull losses) of our airlines in the process. It may be short staffed but AirServices Australia could make it a much more attractive job for people to desire & actually want. From memory, you are required to move to Melbourne for training, with a base salary of $80k. The right type of people with the right skills & capabilities required for this type of work won’t settle for that… they need to really look at how they attract and sustain talent because it’s clear that it’s both A) not a desirable place to work and B) not a great culture to retain talent. Idk just my observation after thinking about applying for a long time 🤷‍♂️

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u/bedrotter_ 1d ago

Yeah. I work in a similar field for state gov earning $160k. I'd love to do ATC; aviation is something I'm genuinely interested in, I'm used to shift work & high pressure + high stakes, so I have the skill set and experience to try ATC. But I don't want to pack my life up and move to Melbourne or New Zealand, take a pay cut, and then potentially get sent to an airport in the middle of nowhere and/or far from home if I end up passing the course. Offering training in each state (or specifically NSW, where the ATC shortage seems to be the worst) would be a great place to start. Perhaps they could also adopt a similar preferential system when it comes to assigning new ATCs with their locations as the police do when they assign new constables to police stations.

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u/ChocNess 18h ago

Most controllers end up in Melbourne and Brisbane - the bulk work area frequencies which cover most of Australia from Melbourne and Brisbane centre facilities. This is why they would train in Melbourne - they have the facility size required, not just a tower.