§ Lord Shore of Stepneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many air traffic controllers were in post at the latest available date; what was the number in each of the previous 10 years; what is their estimate of the current shortage; and what arrangements are in hand for closing the supply gap. [HL965]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)At the end of January 2001 National Air Traffic Services Ltd employed 1,957 air traffic controllers, including student air traffic controllers. Corresponding figures for the previous 10 years, as at 31 March each year, were:
33WA
31 March Total Number of Controllers 2000 1,900 1999 1,837 1998 1,790 1997 1,712 1996 1,728 1995 1,689 1994 1,716 1993 1,414 1992 1,330 1991 1,162 In overall terms, the number of air traffic controllers employed by NATS broadly meets the budgeted manpower requirement. However, there are some shortfalls in particular areas. At the end of January, the Area Control operation had four controllers in excess of the total requirement for 467 controllers, including 33 in training. The Terminal Control operation had 13 controllers less than the total requirement for 322 controllers, including 42 in training. Scottish area control operations had a shortfall of eight against the total requirement of 239 controllers, including 22 in training, and Manchester area control operations had a shortfall of nine against the total requirement of 121 controllers, including four in training. The NATS airports were six controllers above the total requirement of 527, with 45 staff in training. NATS will still be able to cope safely with expected levels of air traffic without a significant increase in delays.
The training system is prioritised to allocate trainees to areas of shortage. The intake of student controllers is being increased from 120 per year to 180 per year from the middle of 2001. This is to provide for the replacement of retiring controllers and to meet the ongoing growth in traffic.