Air traffic control: Too many flights, too little pilot

The air traffic controllers of Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) will always monitor more flights. The delays to take - of a "Chaos" in the air, the DFS chief wants to know however nothing.

The air traffic control (DFS) expected for the current year, bottlenecks in the German sky. In spite of some counter-measures there are still too few traffic controllers, and congested Traffic areas - in spite of growing air traffic, the DFS for the presentation of their annual balance sheet.

After the Federal government posted its own company last year, a record number of flight movements, the number increases this year, according to its own data, again expected to be 3.4 percent to 3.5 million-to-control flight movements.

The German air traffic control caused delays are clearly

in Particular the upper airspace, which is controlled from the Center of Karlsruhe, is overloaded about Germany, apparently. Every day, hundreds of flights would have to be transferred into the underlying air space, even though the aircraft consume there due to the increased air resistance means more Fuel, so the DFS.

DFS-Chef Klaus-Dieter Scheurle fought back, however, against the notion of "Chaos". "There is no Chaos. We work as a air navigation order in the sky. But it is precisely this procedure generates sometimes delays."

The German air traffic control-induced delays have increased significantly - from 0.5 minutes to 2017 to 1.23 minutes per flight during the past year. The aim is a value of not more than a quarter of a Minute.

DFS has taken to Scheurles information, several measures against it. These include the intensified training of new pilots and the exemption of the stock of pilots from non-specialist activities. An agreement with the trade Union of air navigation to additional Overtime, there is not. On Monday started talks but in a very constructive way, said Scheurle.