Challenges of manning the skies in the Asia Pacific
Word count 3000 words (+20%/-10%) excluding appendices and
bibliography/references.
This assessment requires you read the attached case study (challenges of manning the skies in the
Asia Pacific). This case study describes a shortage of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) and actions taken
to address a shortfall in the numbers of ATCs.
Using your learning from this module, critically assess the approach described in the article and
suggest improvements to increase the supply of competent ATCs.
Solution
Introduction (Nature of the topic)
The number of airplane travel passengers is expected to double within the next two
decades. Considering this fact, there is a need for airports to ensure that both of their physical
and human aviation infrastructures are well prepared to face the increasing demand for the
aviation industry. Currently, many airports around the world are working towards developing
strategies to guide their growth. While an airport like the International Airport of Hong Kong
(HKIA); has a vision of launching a mega infrastructure project to accommodate growth, the
international civil aviation organization (ICAO) established the major challenge is to satisfy the
rapid raising need for additional Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) (Kiff, 2018 pp. 1). By the year
2030, ICAO has estimated an additional 40,000 ATCs will be required to sustain the increasing
demand in air transport. The Asian Pacific airport, based on the analysis, may be considered to
be the neediest airport, as it currently requires an additional 1000 ATCs every year to reach its
satisfaction level.
Compared to other departments in airport, it has been identified that the department of the
air traffic management department is facing a challenge of less specialist due to its invisibility in
the value chain. Therefore, it becomes a challenge for the human resources department. The
department of human resources has the responsibility to plan, advertise, recruit, induct, promote,
and develop all sections related to human resource activities. In other words, the human
resources departments of all the airports have the responsibility of developing strategies to
encourage growth and development of the workforce required to sustain optimal performance of
the airports (Fleetwood-Walker, 2020). The department, considering the current state, is tasked
with the responsibility of starting from the most basic point; the training of ATC specialist. To
make the training lucrative, and attract a robust talent pool, the human resources management
department has to ensure improved ATC job prospects. This comes in hand with improved
training procedures and quality.
Around the world, currently, human resource departments of many airports have taken
steps towards dealing with the issues related to the shortage of air traffic controllers. These steps
include training of more ATC candidates, encouraging females to join the ranks of male
dominated industry, and encouraging people to develop an interest in Science, Engineering,
Mathematics and Technology (STEM) Subjects (Kiff, 2018).
Review of Appropriate Academic Literature
With an intensified need for additional ATCs manning control towers, airports must
develop strategies that include developing and retaining a constant supply of controllers (Kiff,
2018). According to Lane (2018), ATCs play a very important role in airports; they directly
overcome traffic complexities and challenges in airports. The National Airspace system (NAS),
for example, has been focusing much of its attention towards improving the safety of airports
through intense investment on ATCs. Considering other major airports around the world,
different strategies have been set up to ensure that the shortage of ATCs problem is addressed
intensively. The Human resource departments in these airports are supposed to be actively
engaged in the implementation of the different strategies that different airports have come up
with to solve the problem. According to Meinert (2016), Human resource departments in
organizations are charged with the responsibility of shaping the strategies of the organization and
ensuring the success of these strategies.
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 3
According to Kiff (2018), the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) recently conducted a
drive to recruit graduates from all over the world to be trained as specialists in air traffic control.
In the United Kingdom, the NATS has managed to have a total of 1700 controllers managing the
entire airspace. That is a good number considering the current state. Nonetheless, a constant
effort should be maintained to ensure that the growth in the number of air traffic controllers
grows constantly with the increase in the need of ATCs. The NATS has also taken further steps
to aid large airports like the Hong Kong International Airport in their efforts to recruit more air
traffic controllers. According to Petiprin (2016), the NATS could be considered to have
identified the constant change in airport management and, therefore, came up with a strategy to
ensure that there would be a constant supply of ATCs in airports. This strategy is a good one, as
it involves the human resource department of any airport to advertise for more individuals to
venture into ATC training. Additionally, the airports would take charge of the training, instead of
solely depending on employees of other training institutions.
In other airports like those in Australia and Singapore, the shortage of ATCs issue is
being addressed by making their training facilities better as well as making the air traffic control
job prospects better. According to Cheng (2016), the rate at which the ‘Civil Aviation Authority
of Singapore (CAAS)’ was hiring ATCs had doubled at the time, and the trend was set to
continue for quite some time. The increase in the hiring was referred back to the sudden
reduction in the volume of air traffic controllers. In the year 2014 and 2015, for example, the
CAAS took a total of 80 ATCs each year as compared to 40 per year in previous years. By the
year 2020, the body had targeted to have the pool expanded to a total of 600 members (Cheng,
2016). With such a target, the CAAS is making its training program for ATCs better. It has also
gone further to review the work and the responsibilities of ATCs with an aim of providing
candidates enrolled in ATC courses with better packages of training. This, according to Kiff
(2018), could be achieved by offering the candidates a chance for career progression, as well as
giving them some benefits while they study.
In Singapore, the situation is at its critical urgency level considering that two new
terminals are set to open at the airport in Changi. By the year 2025, therefore, it is projected that
approximately a million flights would be zipping through the airspace of Singapore, an increase
from the 650,000 in 2015 (Cheng, 2016). More ATCs would, therefore, be needed to handle the
increase of flights that land and take-off from the airport every hour. The increase is
approximated to be up from 68 to 100 flights per hour. Australia, on the other hand has taken a
very huge step of making the ATC job among the top most paying jobs in the country, by
classifying it in the same category as anesthetists’ and surgeons. According to Kiff (2018), the
increase in salaries for these professionals is related to the enhancement of the training programs,
a responsibility that has been fully taken by the Air services of Australia. The ATC career has
been viewed to be of high respect, in addition to it being lucrative, based on the responsibility
that the ATCs have in airports. According to the Edith Cowan University (2020), the ‘Royal
Australian Air Force’ (RAAF), is also actively involved in the training of ATCs. In this case,
however, a trainee has to join the air force before being accepted to train with the body.
Additionally, the qualifications to join the ATCs training has been set high, with the
language, science and mathematical capabilities of the individuals joining the training being of
uttermost consideration. The applicants joining the training also undertake a comprehensive
selection test to determine whether they are viable for the training. The test includes some form
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 4
of gauging the cognitive ability of the individuals, an aptitude test based on computers, police
checks, a day of assessment of competence based interviews, drug tests and medical
examinations. During their training, the trainees are given intensive knowledge; both theoretical
and practical. Furthermore, before their completion, the trainees advance to Melbourne where
they are taken through a completion program. Ultimately, they get their Air Traffic Control
(ATC) license (Edith Cowan University, 2020). The program in Australia has also advanced to a
point whereby, the trainees, after receiving their licenses, are given jobs on the basis of the
probation; consequently, after they succeed on a probationary basis, they are almost assured of
securing jobs as full employees in different airports around the country. Air force ATCs are
trained differently, whereby individuals are required to join the air force as officers first, and
then train for their specialization (Edith Cowan University, 2020).
Asia Pacific and other airports around the world have also taken a different initiative or
strategy of attracting more females to the male dominated field of ATC specialization. The
initiative is meant to indicate to the females that they are highly valued, and are needed to fill the
talent gap in the field. During the international civil aviation day in 2018, the Airport Authority
of India (AII) celebrated the girls’ aviation day, whereby an informative session was given to a
number of females from various schools to inspire them to do the STEM (Science, Engineering,
Mathematics and Technology) subjects. This was intentionally done to make sure that some girls
would drift towards the ATC training in the future (Kiff, 2018). The Air service of Australia,
after noticing that females form only 13 percent of the total number of ATCs in Australia, has
also put in place strategies for targeted advertisements to ensure that more females join the
training and different vacancies for the same.
Analysis and Discussion
Airports around the world, together with airport systems have come up with very nice
programs and strategies that would be able to establish new ATCs to curb the challenge of the
minimum numbers compared to the increasing air transport need. Nonetheless, even with the
strategies put in place together with the dedication in different airports and airspace
organizations, challenges have proven inevitable, based on the strategies put in place. The
National Airspace system, for example, has faced a lot of challenges towards its modernization
over the years. The modernization was eyed towards enabling the airspace of the United States of
America (USA) to cater for the ever increasing number of passengers and cargo that moves
across the air space of the USA. According to Anderson (2014), the projects have constantly
been failing due to a repetition of missed schedules, costs and performance. According to Scott
(2017,), the whole challenge could directly be linked to Human Resource. The challenge of
failed projects at the NAS, for instance, could be solved through the correct allocation of time
and other resources to the projects to ensure they meet their completion. The modernization of
the NAS should be considered as a complex project, which would, therefore, require paramount
cooperation within all the stakeholders. This, according to Scott (2017), would require critical
organization and communication among all the members who participate in the project.
According to Fleetwood-Walker (2020), it is the work of the Human Resource
Department of any given organization to ensure that the innovation culture, quality enhancement
and the reduction of any costs are achieved while any organization is doing its projects. If these
three factors were considered when dealing with the modernization of the NAS, the challenges
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 5
related to the cost, the performance and schedule mismatch would not easily be encountered. On
the better side, the NAS and the federal government of the United States of America have
already established that the modernization project is a high risk project. Therefore, the Joint
Planning and Development Office (JPDO), which was created alongside the Air Traffic
Organization (ATO) has been charged with the task of researching on how the modernization
would be achieved by the year 2025. This is a nice strategy, since the JPDO would establish all
the weaknesses that the entire project is facing, and, therefore, strategies could be established to
ensure that the challenges are overcome.
The other major challenge facing the current system of air control is governments’
control over them. According to Oster and Emeritus (2015), the challenge of a structural
mismatch is, therefore, normally encountered since the structure of the traffic control systems is
highly different from the way the governments manage them. In specific the problem could be
described as; the nature of air control is intensive considering the capital needed, while the
governments’ rules connected to budgets and procurements is challenging (Oster & Emiratus,
2015). Air space control is also highly technological yet; the government may not pay keen
attention to the changes that exist in the technology that resonates behind Air Traffic Control. A
review on the Federal Aviation administration (FAA) concluded that the systems of Air Traffic
control are constantly faced with the challenge related to budgeting, restrictions in procurement,
and personnel. Budgeting and procurement challenges could be related to the fact that the system
of air control depends on funding from the government (Oster & Emiratus, 2015). Consequently,
delays in funding would result in the delays in budgeting and procurement procedures. The only
solution to this would be making the air control system an independent system, with the
government only acting as the oversight of the activities.
Challenges related to personnel are also crucial, but these challenges are mostly related to
the Human Resource departments of the airports. One of these challenges, as identified by Costa
(1996), is stress amongst the ATCs. There are a variety of sources of stress related to the ATC
jobs, but the major challenge herein is the highly involving nature of the jobs. The jobs also
include higher risks in relation to the fact that ATCs deal with the lives of very many people on
aircrafts boards as well as the high economic level costs related to aeronautical activities.
Therefore, the number of ATCs should be made to be higher than even the reflected attainable
number to ensure that they work, preferably in shifts to lower their levels of anxiety as well as
stress levels. According to the research conducted by Costa (1996), most accidents that emanate
from air traffic control occur in non-complex traffic situations. Therefore, this situation could be
related to the mental situation of individuals working in the ATC department.
The Asia Pacific, as much as it has it has kept initiatives in place to ensure that the
pressure related to the need for the increase of ATCs continues to face challenges relate to the
same. According to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and
Communication (2017), Australia continues to face challenges in the safety, capacity, efficiency,
as well as environmental challenges in relation to Air Traffic Management. The information
from the department has established that, in addition to the recruiting of the new individuals to
join the ATC jobs, the Asia Pacific and other airports around the world should put in place other
strategies to make the overall condition in airports better. Some of these strategies would
include; having a strong investment in improved equipment and infrastructure, ensuring that
systems and facilities of Air Traffic Management are highly maintained, and retaining skilled
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 6
personnel, even as the recruited personnel are added into the system. These strategies ensure that
the challenges related to ATCs stress at work are curbed. They would also ensure that better
surveillance levels are attained by the Australian airspace management department, considering
that Australia covers a total of 11 percent of the total world airspace. Additionally, the country is
also responsible for the vast stretch of both oceanic and continental airspace.
The other major challenge, facing Air Traffic management, especially encountered by the
FAA is the loss of students. According to Smith (2015), the challenge of loss of students from
ATC training programs could be connected to the change in hiring preferences. Several
institutions in the United States have faced the challenge of students dropping out of the
program. The source cause of the drop out has not been identified as lack of jobs after the
training, but instead, what most dropouts have identified as the controversial change in the
procedure of hiring by the federal government. The hiring process has allegedly changed with
further requirements being needed before an individual gets a job. A good example of these
requirements is an additional training from Beaver County (Smith). This college is connected to
the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI), a program connected to the FAA. To solve this
challenge, such limitations should be eliminated from the entire system. Alternatively, such a
program, if beneficial, should be incorporated to all institutions offering the training of ATCs.
This challenge could be related to weaknesses in Human resource management teams in the
organizations offering the programs, as they have a responsibility of coming up with the best
plan for the training programs.
Conclusions and recommendations
It is clearly established that the number of aircraft passengers is increasing all around the
world. This means that airports would be having more airplanes to deal with in every hour as
compared to their current situation. It is also clear that ATCs play a very critical role in the
airports. The safety and the efficient operations of the airports majorly depend on them. To that
effect, airports, especially, the major airports around the world have come up with strategies to
ensure that the number of ATCs is efficient enough to deal with the change. The current
responses from different airports and air traffic management organizations around the world have
proven to be very strategic and beneficial. The NATS, for example, has a recruitment program in
place to ensure that more people are trained into ATC professionals. The program initiated by
this organization has gone to the extent of issuing out trained ATCs to other major airports like
the HKIA. Other strategies have included raising the job category of ATCs to the highest
possible categories, such as the category of surgeons in Australia, to attract more people into the
field. This strategy has, however, been accompanied with high levels of training realized by
setting up of intensive and high standard programs.
Efforts across the world have also been constantly directed towards advertising for the
ATC job, as well as calling out to women to join in the male dominated field. This could be
evidenced from the discussed strategies such as selective advertisements, aiming at females.
Seminars to encourage female students, such as the one held in India in 2018, have also been
held to advise female students to focus on STEM subjects that would result to STEM related
professions. Nonetheless, although the programs put in place have proven to be beneficial for the
airports to some extent, the challenges that come with the need to tackle the ever increasing
number of airplane passengers over the years has proven inevitable. Some of these challenges are
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 7
closely related to the human resource management of the airports, while others are beyond them.
A good example would be the challenge of unfulfilled modernization that the NAS is facing. The
root cause of the challenge has been identified as the mismatch of time, resource and schedule.
Considering the time and schedule factor, the organizations should basically focus on their
human management strategies to ensure that enough time is allocated for the project to be
completed.
The other major challenges have been identified as the structural differences between the
air control systems and the way the government runs the system. The main cause of this
challenge is the fact that governments are in control of air control systems, yet they have little
established knowledge related to it. Additionally the governments are entitled with the
responsibility of funding the systems. This has brought about very major challenges emanating
from the delays in funding of the systems, and delayed budgeting. This challenge could be
solved through setting up different organizations to take charge of the air systems, with the
government having only the job of foresight. Stress among the ATCs as well as dropouts from
ATC training facilities have also been identified. The challenge of stress among ATCs, based on
the identified sources of stress could be solved visa the Human resource management strategies.
This would, however, require an even greater increase in the number of ATCs in any particular
airport to ensure that they are not overworked. The challenge of dropouts, on the other hand
could be solved by ensuring the standards for training programs are established to ensure that no
unfamiliar means of recruitments are encountered during the hiring of trained ATCs.
LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 8
References List
Anderson, P. 2014. National Airspace System: Progress and Ongoing Challenges for the Air
Traffic Organization. Retrieved from
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-
485T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-485T.htm
Cheng', K. 2020, February 10. More air-traffic controllers needed as number of flights soars.
Retrieved from https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/more-air-traffic-controllers-
needed-number-flights-soars
Costa, G., 1996. Occupational stress and stress prevention in air traffic control. Conditions of
work and welfare facilities branch. Working paper CONDFT/WP. 6/1995. Geneva,
Switzerland: International Labour Office. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—
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Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communication. 2017, July
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er_4.aspx
Edith Cowan University. 2020. How to become a Air Traffic Controller. Retrieved from
https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/careers-guide/browse/air-traffic-controller
Fleetwood-Walker. 2020. Day 4: Organizations and Change.
Kiff, B. 2018, December 21. Challenges of manning the skies in the Asia Pacific. Retrieved from
https://nats.aero/blog/2018/12/challenges-manning-skies-asia-pacific/
Lane, K. 2018, July 5. Air Traffic Controllers Overcome Complexities, Challenges. Retrieved
from https://news.erau.edu/headlines/air-traffic-controllers-overcome-complexities-
challenges
Meinert, D. 2018, April 11. How HR Can Influence Organizational Strategy. Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-
development/pages/how-hr-can-influence-organizational-strategy.aspx
Oster, C. V., & Emeritus. 2015. Cited Problems with the Current Air Traffic Control System and
Concerns about Changing the Organizational Structure. Retrieved from
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sp/Cited_Problems_Concerns_6.10.2015.pdf
Pelprin, A. 2016, August 13. Lewin's Change Theory. Retrieved from https://nursing-
theory.org/theories-and-models/lewin-change-theory.php
Scott, P. 2017, July 7. Importance of Project Schedule and Cost Control in Project Management.
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Smith, A. A. (2015, September 23). Collegiate air traffic controller programs struggle to stay
relevant after FAA hiring changes. Retrieved from
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/23/collegiate-air-traffic-controller-
programs-struggle-stay-relevant-after-faa-hiring
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