Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – His job might not be as exciting as a pilot, but Riski Ramadhan, 24, an air traffic control (ATC) officer in Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, has the same huge responsibility to ensure the safety of airline passengers.
Despite this important role, however, Riski said the airport operator, which handles around 90 aircraft movements per day, was short of personnel to run 24-hour air navigation services.
He said that according to procedure there should be at least four ATC officials on every work shift: one for guiding pilots during take off and landing and one for directing aircraft on the taxiway and apron, with the other two serving as back up and assisting their colleagues in coordinating with each other.
"However, when some of us are absent or on leave, only two people are left to handle all the jobs during each work shift," said Riski, who has been working in the airport for more than three years.
ATC is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air to avoid collisions.
With only 18 ATC officers working at the airport, Riski said he and his colleagues had repeatedly asked the Transportation Ministry's technical operation unit (UPT), which manages the airport, to send additional manpower. The requests, however, were usually not met.
"This year, for example, we received a new ATC official, but at the same time one of our colleagues was promoted to a new position and is no longer an active controller," he said.
Rarely credited for their vital role in maintaining air safety, ATC officials have long struggled with a demanding workload and an uncongenial working environment. This is due mainly to the limited number of trained air navigation personnel and the absence of a strategic plan to provide and upgrade personnel to accommodate the rapid growth of the airline industry during the past decade.
According to the Indonesia Air Traffic Control Association (IATCA), the professional organization for trained air navigation officers, the country faces a shortage of 800 professional ATC officials, forcing the existing 1,000 officials to work under severe psychological pressure as they handle far more aircraft than is thought to be safe.
According to international air-safety procedures, an on-duty ATC official, for example, must be replaced after working for two hours in order to maintain concentration. In reality, many ATC personnel have to work longer than the designed maximum work time, and sometimes without a break until their shift ends.
The shortages and the stressful working environment are also encountered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country's busiest airport, managed by state-owned PT Angkasa Pura II.
Angkasa Pura vice president for human resources Indah Suryandari admitted the operator was short of 172 ATC officials to support the existing 600 personnel to handle navigation at the company's 11 airports, including Soekarno-Hatta.
Despite the problem however, Indah added that the company had managed to meet all international standards for air traffic services, including providing proper break times for its on-duty personnel.
Recruiting ATC professionals is difficult and expensive. The Transportation Ministry's head of human resources development, Capt. Bobby Mamahit, said the ministry's six aviation training institutions produced fewer than 200 professionals annually.
Not many are interested in working in ATC as the low salary does not immediately cover the expense of studying navigation.
The training costs have also discouraged high school graduates. A three-year navigation course costs Rp 36 million (US$4,012) and the tuition has to be paid in advance, according to Clara Sinta, 21, who earlier this year graduated from the ministry's semi-military aviation school in Surabaya, East Java.