“Professions. Vocations. People!”
The air traffic control tower at Frankfurt Airport
Photos (4): German air traffic control
13.03.2023 / ALSFELD –
“Only flying is nicer,” says the vernacular, or the “dream of flying” is quoted. If you look at the sky, you will quickly see that after the Corona lull there is now quite a lot of air traffic over East Hesse again.
Passengers and aircraft crews, but also the people on the ground, trust that flight movements are reliable and safe from takeoff to landing. Highly complex processes using state-of-the-art technology are one important component of success – and extremely specialized people in the cockpits, in the tower and in the control centers, who have mastered the technology inside out, are the other. One of the largest centers in Europe is located in Langen, not far from Rhein-Main Airport.
EAST HESSEN|NEWS visited the German air traffic control (DFS) there, asked two “East Hesse” specialists about their demanding work and took a look into the “holy chamber”, the control center.
The air traffic control engineer from Fulda
Felix Schneider graduated from high school in Fulda in 2018 and then applied to DFS. “Due to holiday flights to and from Rhein-Main Airport, I came up with the idea of applying to DFS. It should be something technical and the offer of a dual study program to become an air traffic control engineer appealed to me. I started in September 2019 and am now working on the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, I completed my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and information technology. My special area is the positioning systems, i.e. all technical equipment to record flight movements and to make the aircraft visible with all the necessary data for the air traffic controllers. I have been working at DFS for a longer period of time all sorts of other certificates, for example to be able to maintain radars and carry out repairs.”
Of course, the technology is fascinating, for example the large radar tower in the Odenwald or his stay in the Munich Tower. “The fact that I work for DFS makes me a little proud,” says Schneider. “The supervisors take a lot of time for the students and it is a very warm work. You should be willing to take responsibility, be open and, above all, a team player – then you are in the right place here!”
Move to Darmstadt, but “Fulda stays in my heart”
In order not to have to commute too far, Felix moved to Darmstadt. Because of family and friends, however, he keeps in touch with his hometown of Fulda, where he volunteered in the Catholic youth work of the parish and as a football referee before he moved. “Even though I moved away for work – Fulda remains in my heart!”
The air traffic controller watches over the East Hessian airspace
Damaris Schröder may not be from East Hesse, but he knows the region better than almost anyone else. However, from a special point of view – she is one of the approximately 50 air traffic controllers who work from Langen in the area of operation, which also includes East Hesse, in 24/7 shifts. “The area includes the area of Kassel – Coburg – Nuremberg – Stuttgart – Frankfurt. We air traffic controllers are always and exclusively tied to the respective areas of application, because you have to know your way around there: all airfields, the air routes and flows, all possible frequencies and much more. We always work as a team, i.e. according to the four-eyes principle: one acts as a so-called radar controller and talks to the pilots, while the so-called coordination controller looks at what is taken from the neighboring sectors and handed over there.”
Gradual increase in skills
The 29-year-old from Heilbronn began her training in Langen in 2013 and has been an air traffic controller for six years. For 9 months she has been working as a coach in so-called on-the-job training, a component of the step-by-step cross-section of training at DFS: first a lot of theory teaching at the academy, then introduction to practice using simulation systems and finally continuously supervised, i.e. ” “Coached” action in real operation. “This step-by-step transfer of skills is excellent. The prospective air traffic controllers never have the impression that they are being overwhelmed, but rather have the certainty that there would be no scenario for which they were not prepared in the team and which cannot be solved in a controlled manner. ” Damaris Schröder is not in Langen during OSTHESSEN|NEWS’ DFS visit, but the press spokeswoman connects her via video call. Schröder raves about her work as if she had been cast for a DFS advertising trailer, but exudes a great deal of conviction. “It is a great privilege to be able to do this job. We are aware of our great responsibility and work in a highly concentrated manner, so we are provided with optimal working conditions. Both in terms of technology and the human factor, the following applies without exception and without exception: “Safety First!” All systems are designed redundantly, so they can be replaced immediately in the event of a failure, and the most important parts are even doubly redundant.” In this way, the crew in the control room remains relaxed even in the event of a malfunction.
No radio contact: does the NATO alarm squad have to go up?
Schröder describes some of the disruptions that occur from time to time: “It happens from time to time that radio contact with an aircraft suddenly breaks off: we call it ‘loss-com’. It’s usually a human error, sometimes a technical defect The processes that follow are standardized and, after fixed time windows, go so far that our supervisor reports the incident to the national air situation information center, where they then check whether the NATO alarm squad needs to go up in order to approach the aircraft as quickly as possible to clarify the situation and, if necessary, to “intercept” in a variety of ways. Then, of course, we clear all other aircraft aside as a precautionary measure. But something like this only happens extremely rarely.”
From medical emergencies to airborne births…
“Medical emergencies on board, on the other hand, always have to be dealt with. I once had a plane that came from England and was actually on its way south. Because of a medical emergency, we took it over from the upper airspace and made two loops over the Fulda area be rotated so that he could land safely at the nearest suitable airport, namely Frankfurt.A very special incident was also a birth that actually took place on board a machine – here, too, the machine is of course guided to land as quickly as possible, unscheduled Being able to provide the best possible care for mother and child. You don’t forget something like that anymore, especially when you get the information afterwards: Mother and child are doing well despite the extraordinary circumstances!”
If you listen to her, it quickly becomes clear where she sees the attraction of her work: “No day is like the other, the work is varied with the most diverse situations and requirements, but also with the functions that I can take on. It’s easy always exciting and interesting.” And with the extraordinary skills that air traffic controllers need to have for their valuable work, one thing goes without saying: “Not only do we have extremely good working conditions such as a variety of relaxation during the breaks, we also earn really good money!”
Damaris Schröder currently lives in Mainz and wants to move to Hesse soon. As a balancing hobby, she plays the trombone in an orchestra. “Yes, I know East Hesse a little from trips to the Wasserkuppe and the Rhön. Very nice, I’ll look around there more often!”
Before saying goodbye, she makes sure to be on the safe side: “In case it hasn’t already become clear: I have absolutely and without a doubt found my dream job!” Dear Ms. Schröder: I would like to assure you once again – that had already become very clear in the conversation…!
With the spokeswoman in the control room
Press spokeswoman Kristina Kelek has been with DFS for more than 25 years and she is still fascinated by air traffic controllers and their work: “The controllers have an exceptional ability to think three-dimensionally, to be able to multitask and to be team-oriented and just keep calm at all times.And then there’s something we call “having a picture in your head”: means having a mental picture of the situation in your head, even if you were to close your eyes or cover the screen. You’re still aware of every plane and every circumstance you last saw.”
When walking through the protected control center, she shows what she means on the monitors. The teams sit at their monitors, coaches have slightly raised chairs and look after their protégés via telephone receiver, you can hear a muffled hubbub of speech in the hall, radio messages can be heard. A calm and relaxed atmosphere – from what one has heard and seen, a result of highly complex and extremely laborious processes.
140 positions for prospective air traffic controllers per year
Kristina Kelek proudly points out that DFS is an attractive training company for school leavers. “We need about 6,000 applicants for the approximately 140 training positions as air traffic controllers every year. In contrast to some other countries, we sort out a lot before they are hired. Anyone who is then hired and who passes the free training for the prospective air traffic controllers has a guarantee of employment and a really very well paid, but also very demanding job. But the same applies to all other training and study courses in our broad portfolio that we are very attractive. Interested people are welcome to try out the “Recruiting Day” on May 13th invited to the DFS.”
Info box “DFS at a glance”:
Currently 5616 employees in total, including 2200 air traffic controllers. 15 tower locations at the international airports in Germany. Four control centers: Bremen, Karlsruhe, Langen and Munich. DFS ensures safe and punctual flight operations with more than three million flights through German airspace in peak years and up to 10,000 flights in German airspace every day. Since it was founded in 1993, DFS (in contrast to its predecessor, the Federal Agency for Air Traffic Control) has been privatized as a GmbH, but is 100% owned by the federal government. In technical terms, it is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Transport. More information on the Internet at the address www.dfs.de . (goa) +++
