Aussies challenged by Haiti air traffic

Australian air traffic controllers in earthquake ravaged Haiti are having to deal
with a destroyed control tower, a busy airport and language difference.
The five Australian Defence Force members were deployed to Haiti last month as part
of Australia's contribution to relief efforts following the disastrous earthquake on
January 12.
Their main task is to help alleviate the pressure and improve safety at the main
airport in Haiti through which much of the air traffic for the aid operation is
passing.
Defence said the permanent air traffic control tower at the Port-au-Prince airfield
was destroyed in the earthquake.
So the controllers have been working from a temporary mobile air traffic control
tower, assisting in ground control services.
Officer in charge of the detachment, Flight Lieutenant Matthew Ferguson-McLellan,
from Williamtown in NSW, said the chance to provide support and represent Australia
was a rewarding experience.
"When we first arrived last month we were handling around 500 aircraft movements a
day, which has now dropped to 350 a day as the ports become operational again," he
said in a statement.
"It's been challenging for us due to the design of the airfield. Only one aircraft
can taxi in or out of the main ramp at a time here in Haiti, so it can turn into a
bottleneck with up to six aircraft attempting to take off or land at once."
Flt-Lt Ferguson-McLellan said the controllers had also faced language barriers in
dealing with international aid and commercial aircraft from around the world.