US EditionFrench Airliner Circles After Air Traffic Controller Found Asleep in Corsica
The incident highlights ongoing understaffing and poor working conditions faced by French air traffic controllers, which have led to regular protests, officials said.
- On Tuesday, Sept. 16, an Air Corsica Airbus A320 flight circled for over an hour near Ajaccio's Napoleon Bonaparte Airport after its sole air traffic controller fell asleep.
- The delay occurred because pilots could not get landing clearance, prompting first responders and police to wake the controller who had failed to switch on runway lights.
- The flight crew remained calm throughout the incident, and the plane safely landed after the controller turned on the lights and cleared the aircraft for landing.
- Tests found the controller was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, while French controllers regularly protest poor working conditions and understaffing persists internationally.
- This event highlights systemic issues in air traffic control staffing and safety, paralleling concerns in the U.S. where Congress recently approved FAA funding and new measures were promised.
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20 Articles
French airliner circles after air traffic controller found asleep in Corsica
Copy URL Save image Email Facebook Twitter / X Reddit Unbiased. Straight Facts.TM A 2011 FAA-commissioned study found that U.S. air controller schedules caused chronic fatigue, with most getting an average of 5.8 hours’ sleep per night. An Air Corsica Airbus A320 was forced to circle over Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica after the sole air…
Fire and police have intervened after the pilots of an Air Corsica plane unable to contact the flight controller and with the lights of the runway turned off: here's what happened to Ajaccio
An Airbus A320 of the airline Air Corsica had to run over Ajaccio (Corsica) for 18 minutes on Tuesday evening because the only air traffic controller on duty at Napoleon Bonaparte airport had fallen asleep. The plane had come from Paris and could not land at first, as the crew received no response from the tower. According to the captain, the plane was almost diverted to Bastia, the other side of the Mediterranean island. "In my decades of caree…
ledauphine.com
An air traffic controller fell asleep Monday in Corsica. "The aircraft waited 18 minutes, turning in the air," DGAC explained.
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