To them all that matters is the blips on the radar

Chennai: While the idea of watching planes go by all day (and all night) might seem the perfect job to many, working as an air-traffic controller (ATC) involves levels of stress that most of us cannot even comprehend. This is especially true in a place like Chennai, where besides the more ‘routine’ concerns of mid-air collisions, thunder storms and emergency landings that come with the job, stray dogs on the runway, power outages and airline politics play on your mind.
“The first thing you should know about being an ATC is that it is not like any office managerial job,” says Vinod Kumar, ATC, Chennai.
An ATC’s work begins the second an aircraft is within range of the airspace a particular airport is responsible for – Chennai controls the largest airspace in India, stretching far into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal – and ends only when the aircraft is safely tucked into its parking gate.
ATCs monitor and direct everything, from take-offs and landings and taxing on the tarmac to the flight plans of aircrafts passing over Chennai and even the weather.
Becoming an ATC requires passing an intense, one-year long course at the Civil Aviation Training College in Allahabad.
Candidates are put through rigorous tests on simulators where you have to manage crowded landing sequences and terrifying emergencies.
The challenges that an ATC faces are many. Getting by on two hours of sleep is not unusual. When faced with shortage of manpower, the job can require a controller to stay on beyond his or her normal shift and work through the night, from 8.30 in the evening when the shift starts till the sun rises. Controllers require excellent numerical skills and even strong skills in diplomacy to pacify angry and impatient pilots all too eager to get one step ahead of their competitors.
Still, despite these [many] pitfalls, Vinod still believes that there’s nothing quite like controlling aeroplanes for a living.
19/08/07 Ananth Krishnan/The Hindu