Are Air Traffic Controllers overworked?

They perform a vital role in ensuring our flights are safe. Away from the public eye, the air traffic controllers work round the clock to ensure the safety of a flight.
The ATCs are crucial to ensure planes travel safely. Without getting in each other's way, these men and women are constantly on line with the pilots directing them where to go.
But has India got enough of these air traffic cops to handle the growing amount of flights?
With a quantum jump in the number of aircrafts, Delhi and Mumbai are among the biggest airports in the country handling anything between 600-800 aircraft everyday.
From a 125 flights a day eight years ago, Delhi and Mumbai have seen a 600 per cent jump in air traffic. And there simply aren't enough ATCs.
The hiring has now begun but it will take a good five years of on-the-job training to become a proficient controller.
The problem is compounded by a growing rate of attrition. In Delhi, recently four experienced air traffic controllers have quit for better paying prospects abroad.
25/12/08 Sidharth Pandey/NDTV.com

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Categories: Airports Dec 2008, Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2008