Growing air traffic pushes Austro Control to the limits of its capacity – there is a shortage of 80 air traffic controllers
vida calls for relief and training offensive: Staff shortage in air traffic control is a Europe-wide problem – Austria should initiate solutions
Aviation
Air traffic is growing, the load is increasing – and the personnel reserves have been used up. According to the trade union vida, Austro Control is short of at least 80 air traffic controllers. The teams are already working at the limit.
"Up to 4,000 aircraft movements per day due to arrivals and departures as well as overflights have long since pushed the 350 air traffic controllers of Austro Control to their capacity limits, despite overtime work. There is a shortage of up to 25 percent of personnel"
Training falters – demand continues to rise
According to Austro Control, the volume of traffic in Austria is around ten percent higher than recently. 80 trainees are currently undergoing training, which will take around three years. However, only about 20 people graduate per year – too few to compensate for dropouts, retirements and poaching.
"This is only a drop in the ocean, if you consider that there are also premature terminations, natural departures due to waves of retirements or poaching, for example by the better-paying air traffic control in Germany. Austro Control is therefore not supposed to fool the public into believing castles in the air – the shortage of staff is a reality. Words must now finally be followed by deeds,"
– Liebhart affirms.
Improving working conditions – collective bargaining negotiations as a lever
Despite a shortage of staff, Austrian air traffic controllers deliver strong performances. However, in order to avoid capacity bottlenecks in the future, rapid relief is needed - for example through more plannable leisure time and modern duty rosters. This is exactly what will be discussed in the upcoming collective agreement negotiations.
Financing is secured – expand now
"For a decade, we have been pointing out a pronounced shortage of personnel on the part of the union, which is pushing air traffic controllers to their capacity limits. There is therefore a need for relief and a training offensive. Even in times of crisis, there must be no savings on training. Air traffic control also does not cost the general public a cent, as its costs are already priced into the flight tickets with a fee of only 3 to 5 euros," says Liebhart.
European framework needed: thinking planning in 10-15 years
The shortage of staff affects the entire EU. In order for air navigation service providers to be able to build up and invest in personnel in the long term, a longer regulatory and financing framework is needed.
"But you would need a horizon of 10 to fifteen years in personnel planning. Austria could propose reasonable and practicable solutions to this at the European level," Liebhart concludes.
vida's core demands at a glance
- +80 air traffic controllers for Austro Control – immediate build-up path.
- Training offensive: higher success rate, stable cohorts, more class starts.
- Better working time models: more plannable free time, less overtime.
- Investment and planning security: EU framework over 10-15 years instead of 5 years.
- No additional burden for the general public: air traffic control is financed by ticket fees (€3–5).
