>FOREIGN pilots who don't understand correct collision-avoidance procedures are flying unsupervised across Australia, said the country's air traffic controllers.
With thousands of passengers' lives at stake, the situation has been described in online industry forums as a "disaster waiting to happen", reported The Australian.
One Brisbane controller wrote last week: "It quickly became apparent that none of the international crews - Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines - understood the procedures."
He added: "There is a serious deficiency in what advice/briefing these crews are receiving."
Other controllers said they often resorted to briefing foreign pilots during mid-flight on how to avoid collisions when flying in unsupervised airspace.
The lack of supervision is mainly due to a shortage of controllers in Australia.
Just over the weekend, several flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra were delayed or diverted because there weren't enough controllers available to supervise an area in north-west Canberra for two hours.
And on Monday, airspace outside of Brisbane was believed to be unsupervised.
Australia is one of the few countries in the world that allows passenger jets to fly through unsupervised airspace.
When flying through such airspace, pilots rely on themselves and other pilots to avoid collisions. They do so by keeping track of developments on a common frequency.
UNFAMILIAR
But air traffic controllers pointed out foreign pilots either tune into the wrong frequency or are unfamiliar with the procedures as they don't have unsupervised airspace in their own countries.
Former Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) chairman Dick Smith summed up the situation as "incredibly unsafe".
He observed: "Pilots are not air traffic controllers. They don't have the training to work out exactly where they are (in relation to other aircraft)."
While Casa claims it is safe, Australia national carrier Qantas has instructed its pilots to avoid unsupervised airspace where possible.
However, Casa spokesman Peter Gibson maintained that current procedures were safe. He said: "It is not inherently unsafe, but it is not as efficient as when you have a controller."
He pointed out that it was up to individual airlines to decide if they wanted to fly through unsupervised airspace.
This article was first published in The New Paper on July 9, 2008.
