Waking Hours
The pressure of the air traffic controller
Iget up just before 8am. I have a shower, and then maybe a cup of coffee. I live quite close to the barracks, so it’s a short drive to Baldonnel. Normally, I make my way to work in civilian clothes and then I change into my uniform when I get to the locker room. I have a choice of trousers or a skirt, and most times, I’ll be in trousers.
I’m an air-traffic controller in the Irish Air Corps. We wear blue trousers, a light blue shirt and a jumper with our rank markings and name tag. As a soldier, you have to make sure that your uniform is always clean and that you look presentable at all times. If I’m doing a day shift, I commence at 09.00hrs. The first hour will be cleaning duties or administration. I might be planning lectures for upcoming courses.
Prior to going up to the tower, I check the weather. We have a service which is updated every half an hour. The weather will give us an indication of the cloud base and which way the wind is trending.
Generally, the wind will dictate your active runway for the day. We tend to have circuit traffic — our cadets doing their training. They’ll take off on the runway, they’ll commence a crosswinds climb, come downwind and make a base-leg approach. Then they’ll do a touch-and-go on the runway. We could have three or four on the circuit, and then add in helicopter traffic as well. We could have the government jet, foreign military, and royalty — the Queen. Air ambulances might be coming from any country, and we do a lot of organ transfers between here and the U.K.
The most important aspect of air-traffic control is safety. We maintain an orderly, safe and expeditious flow of air traffic. In a nutshell, our primary job is to prevent collision of aircraft and aircraft with vehicles. In the tower, I look at the daily brief and that highlights essential information relevant to the day. That helps us organise our shift. Then we take a handover from the controller who is in position at the time. We look at all the scheduled flights, and you plan your day from that. Air-traffic controllers work traffic for two hours at a time, and then you have to have a break. This is because you need to remain focussed on the job. It prevents fatigue.
When you work as a tower controller, you could be in a visual control room. This means that you are looking out of the window of the tower. We have a monitor which gives us a reference as to where the aircraft is coming from and we know exactly where to look to find them. But if you are using a radar monitor, everything is visually there on that screen. Most radar rooms don’t even have windows.
Being an air-traffic controller involves a lot of multi-tasking and constant coordination. When an aircraft calls you, they are still moving. If you pause or freeze or can’t give them a response, the aircraft is still coming. You have to remain calm under pressure and be flexible in your approach. Everything is constantly changing. You might have one aircraft due to depart and another due to land on the same runway, at the same time. You learn methods of separating and sequencing the air traffic. You find out if you’re suited to this when you do your training. It’s not a stressful job, but there is pressure. You have to be able to deal with it in a calm fashion.
I’ve always loved aviation, and I knew that I wanted to work in it someday. Even as a kid, when I was going on summer holidays to Spain, I loved being around the airport. When I was in fourth year in school, we had a trip to Cathal Brugha Barracks. It was my first exposure to military life. I really enjoyed it, and after that I joined the Reserve Defence Forces. I wasn’t academic at school. I had my heart set on being an air hostess. One night in Cathal Brugha barracks, I spotted an ad for air hostesses within the Air Corps. I thought that would be a perfect combination of my two passions. I applied and was successful. When I joined, I was a line soldier, but after I completed my recruit training, I didn’t want to be an air hostess any more. Instead, I wanted to be a helicopter crew person, but unfortunately, I didn’t get on the course. At the time I would have loved to have been an air-traffic controller too, but I doubted my academic ability for it. A course for ATC came up and a female sergeant encouraged me to apply for it. I’ve been doing it for six years now and I love it. And to think it was all because she made me sign the piece of paper.
As long as you are driven and enthusiastic, it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a guy in the Defence Forces. Being gay makes no difference, either. In fact, the Defence Forces are very supportive of that. I’ve brought my partner to various events in work, and there is no issue whatsoever. She has nothing to do with the military world. She is a hairdresser.
When I go home from work, I might go for a run or head to the gym. I also enjoy BMX racing. I chill out by meeting up with friends.
Even though I switch off from work, I’m always looking up at the sky. I take photographs of planes, and you get to know the sound of the aircraft nearby. You’d know if the Garda chopper was near your house. I adore my job. And I’m so grateful to my family and friends
— they have always supported me. They are a great team. In fact, just like work, it’s all about team work.
“I’m gay and the Defence Forces are very supportive. I’ve brought my partner to work events”