After the sensational report in the Kronen Zeitung about the complete failure of air traffic control this weekend, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner is going on the offensive: given the staff shortage among air traffic controllers, she is demanding that they also be responsible for the salaries of soldiers in the future . Until now, the Green Ministry led by Werner Kogler was responsible for this.
“The sovereignty of personnel belongs to the department responsible for it,” Tanner told reporters on Tuesday: “I am happy to take full responsibility, even if I also have it for the issue of special contracts, whether there are and to what extent that is possible, I also have that.”
Retain staff with special contracts
The minister wants to convince military air traffic controllers to stay with special contracts. According to the military, their migration to the better-paying Austro Control is responsible for the Eurofighter not being able to fly last weekend, as the “Krone” first reported. According to Tanner, civilian air traffic controllers earn two and a half times as much and only have to work 32 hours a week. However, in the military, up to 77 hours of overtime per month would be required.
Tanner once again emphasized that it was important to ensure that “this” – i.e. the complete failure of active air traffic control because the few remaining air traffic controllers had to reduce overtime – would not happen again. “I don’t accept it like that either,” a clear order was given to the General Staff.
Problems around Christmas
Confidential information from the air base shows how explosive the problem in Zeltweg really is: there will probably be further weekends around Christmas in which air traffic surveillance will be suspended. There would be enough planes and pilots in the Zeltweg. But employees of the flight operations services – especially air traffic controllers and the fire brigade – are no longer sufficient to keep the military airport operational on a daily basis. Retirements and other departures have contributed to the increase in overtime, it is said. The problem was known, but took years to resolve.
Last weekend, responsibility for this was transferred to the Green-led civil service ministry, which is responsible for salaries and despite “numerous discussions” failed to recognize the scale of the problem. That was rejected there. The Ministry of Defense was never aware of the drastic nature of the situation. On Monday evening, Kogler continued personally in the Ö1 “Abendjournal”: “A Ministry of Defense that does not have things under control and talks its way out of others is in itself a security risk.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
