Air Traffic Control stress?

Question

For anyone who is in the industry or works close to it is ATC really as stressful as its reputation and how it appears in the movies? And if so does the stress come from the job being that difficult, or the fact that if an error occurred it can be so severe.

Answer 1

I have been a controller for almost 2 years (still new I know). I get this question a lot, but I think it depends on how you deal with stress. Stress drives me...I like the thrill of "making things work" for a lack of a better term. If you know the rules, how they are applied, and your equipment...there isn't anything to stress about. The people that I do know at work that are bothered by stress, I think it's their personality to worry. They worry about everything even when they aren't at work, so couple that with being a controller and you have what you see on movies. The job is NOT difficult, but if I had to choose between the two options you gave as to where the stress comes from, I would have to say the possibility of error would be a major factor. I don't think about that though...I just follow the rules and keep it moving.

Answer 2

It is not an easy job.  The equipment they work with is pretty old and every once in awhile will fail.  The air traffic controller has to be very detailed oriented because so many lives are in his/her hands.  They must be organized in keeping the blips on their scope separated because if the blips are too close, then that means the airplanes are flying too close to each other.  Also there are a lot more airplanes in the sky than before.  If you ever looked at a map which shows a dot for every airplane in the sky, you will be amazed at how many airplanes are flying in a given moment.

Also they sometimes have to deal with crises in the air.  For example maybe an airplane has a structural problem or is running low on fuel and needs to make an emergency landing.  The air traffic control tower worker needs to move that aircraft to the front of the line so the airplane can land safely.  They also must give the pilots correct information so the pilots take-off and land on the correct runway.

Sometimes it can be stressful when dealing with pilots who are from another country and their English is not that good.  I was watching a program where a tower employee at JFK International Airport was trying to give a pilot from another country directions to taxi their airplane to the correct gate.  After giving the directions, the pilot still was not sure what to do.

Bad weather and or changing weather conditions can also play a role.  The same program I was watching dealt with air traffic control tower employees who work at Newark Libery, LaGuardia and JFK International.  These 3 airports are really close together and is considered the busiest airspace in the world.  When the wind conditions change, airplanes must take-off from different runways.  But when that happens, the airports must coordinate with the other airports around them because that would affect how their airplanes take-off and land as well.  The tower employees at LaGuardia said that they could see airplanes heading towards JFK and Newark.

Answer 3

My uncle used to work in ATC, and I remember him telling us about it.

In general, its not a hard job. But its a job that requires the best, and most serious attention being paid to detail. Most ATC controllers go their entire lives and never have a problem. But that "what if" is always looming over their head. I remember him telling me some of his collegues quit after 911 because of stress issues.