Profile of an en route controller

Michael Ireland

Hello, my name is Michael Ireland, and I am currently working as an en route air traffic controller in Melbourne Centre. I am presently working on a group called West Procedural, where we control aircraft over regional Western Australia and the Indian Ocean. On a typical shift I can be working with aircraft around 500 kilometres from Perth to aircraft near the Maldives, or even down towards Antarctica.  

En route controllers specialise in working airspace outside the main capital city airports, or other regional airports which have control towers.  Most of what we do is separating aircraft in the climb, cruise or descent between the departure point and their destination. However we also have to do more than just separate the aircraft. We often need to warn pilots of dangerous weather conditions or changes to weather that haven’t been forecast. Sometimes we need to advise them of volcano activity along or near their flight path.

Other en route controllers in Melbourne are responsible for other airspaces such as flights operating between Sydney and Melbourne or flights between Melbourne and Adelaide. These controllers are using radar as the primary means of separating aircraft.  Each sector is unique; it has its own challenges and rewards.  There is another centre located at Brisbane Airport and this centre is responsible for airspace across the northern part of Australia and across the Pacific Ocean towards Fiji and New Zealand.

As a west procedural controller I have responsibility for controlled and uncontrolled airspace.  Uncontrolled means that the flight is not subject to an air traffic clearance but they advise us of the flight details so that we can advise other aircraft operating in the same airspace.

There are many great things about being an en route controller. While you work closely with other people as part of a team, you also have the freedom of managing how you want to control the airspace you are responsible for within the rules and regulations that are prescribed. The job also carries a large amount of responsibility, which I find gives me a great amount of satisfaction.  Like all air traffic controllers we work shift work, including night shifts, which for certain areas of en route control can be very busy.

There are en route controllers from a great variety of backgrounds, from people who have had previous careers in a wide variety of fields, people like me who came from university, some have done some flying activities, and others who have worked previous jobs and travelled overseas.  I would highly recommend en route air traffic control to people who are looking for a job with a high level of personal responsibility, where every day at work will be a little bit different, and for those who enjoy working as part of a close knit team.