Greenlandic air traffic controllers are a rarity

- You have to be good at reading if you want to be an air traffic controller.

This is what 34-year-old air traffic controller Ujarneq Sørensen, who works in the tower in Kangerlussaq, says.

- I was a bit surprised when I started the training. There are simply so many laws, rules and regulations that you have to know at the back of your head when you have to control traffic at an airport, but there is no way around it, explains the air traffic controller to Sermitsiaq.

- It's about safety – and it also has to go fast when you are responsible for many planes and many passengers at once. So there is no room for mistakes.

The need is growing

The need for air traffic controllers will grow in Greenland after a so-called TMA service was established on Thursday, which will control incoming and outgoing flights at Nuuk Airport. The TMA service will be in addition to the air traffic controllers working at the airport in Kangerlussuaq and at the airport in Pituffik Space Base.

In Pituffik, it is military air traffic controllers from the US Defense Department who handle the task, while in Kangerlussuaq, it is civilian air traffic controllers from the Icelandic company Avians who handle the task.

- We have a mix of Greenlandic, Icelandic and Danish employees. Some live in Kangerlussuaq, and others work in Greenland for a few weeks at a time, says Jón Ingi Jönsson, head of air traffic control in Kangerlussuaq.

The boss himself came to Kangerlussuaq in 2015, when the Icelandic company took over the air traffic control service on behalf of the then Mittarfeqarfiit – now Greenland Airports.

The tower in Kangerlussuaq controls an area out to 10 nautical miles (18 km) around the airport and up to 3500 feet (approx. 1000 m).

- The approach, which is also operated from the tower building, controls the area above the tower out to 90 nautical miles from the airport and up to 19500 feet (approx. 5000 m), and above that we have the upper Greenlandic airspace, which is controlled from Reykjavik. In reality, it is a bit more complex than that, but these are the main figures, says Jón Ingi Jönsson.

Happy for Greenland

The Chief Flight Officer is happy to work in Greenland – just like his colleagues.

- I can say that all the employees who were in the original group from Iceland in 2015 are still working shifts in Kangerlussuaq, so I think we can safely say that they are quite happy with Greenland and the work we do here, says Jón Ingi Jönsson.

- We also have some employees from Denmark who have returned to us after working in Denmark for a while. Many have made good friends and acquaintances here, and for most the experience will have a lasting impact on their lives.

- Our ambition from the start has been to help transfer as much knowledge and expertise as possible to Greenland. Very soon after Avians started operating the service in Kangerlussuaq, we started training local air traffic controllers living in Greenland. We have checked out three new air traffic controllers as part of this effort.

- We have also recently completed a selection program in collaboration with Greenland Airports in Greenland for two more air traffic controllers who will start training this year, so hopefully we will be able to run the service more or less exclusively with local employees in the coming years.

Dropped the pilot dream

Ujarneq Sørensen, who is from Sisimiut, started his training in 2017 – and has since worked in Kangerlussuaq close to his hometown.

- I have always been interested in flying. When I was in high school, I actually dreamed of becoming a pilot, but I was told that I was too young and should wait a few years. So I ended up applying to be an air traffic controller instead and have since continued as an air traffic controller.

- It has been the right educational path for me to take – even though I had not imagined that you could learn so many rules in such a short time as we are talking about.

In connection with his work, Ujarneq Sørensen has visited other airports with many more aircraft than Kangerlussuaq.

- The work is actually the same. We really had a lot to do, as Kangerlussuaq was a traffic hub – and all the aircraft landed and took off again within a short time frame, but the operation here is also very complex, because we only have one runway and also because of the mountains.

- It was quiet here in the first time after the opening of the new airport in Nuuk, but now we are almost as busy as before. Partly because of the military – and also because many planes across the Atlantic choose Kangerlussuaq as a transit airport.

Sisimiut is involved

Jón Ingi Jönsson states that the air traffic control service in Kangerlussuaq is standardised to between four and five full-time positions.

- We are six employees who share these positions with varying percentage contributions. Of course, the working hours on duty are mostly used to control traffic in and out of Kangerlussuaq or other planes moving through the approach airspace.

- Sisimiut is located under the approach airspace, so we also work with traffic there within our opening hours. Other duties on the shift include reviewing test equipment checklists, reviewing opening requests, managing staffing as needed, and keeping all of our tower documents up to date.

- There are also some days dedicated to off-shift duties, including refresher training, both in the classroom and simulator, as we need to ensure that everyone's skills remain high.

- The airport is only open during the day, so most shifts are scheduled around that. Sometimes, airlines will request an extension of the opening hours, and this is quite frequent, especially during the summer periods, so we plan for it in our shifts.

- Outside of the normal opening hours, we always have an air traffic controller on standby, as Air Greenland's rescue helicopter or the Danish Air Force may need to fly at short notice. The airport is also an important alternative destination for commercial flights, both within Greenland and across the Atlantic, explains Jón Ingi Jönsson.