Aviation News Item: 06209

11th Mar 2010

Source: ubmaviationnews.com

A Ryanair 737 on approach to Leipzig Altenburg airport in Germany diverted to Berlin Schönefeld airport last Sunday (March 7), because the tower at Altenburg was temporarily unstaffed and the pilots could not establish radio contact. An unclear work schedule led to a misunderstanding among the air traffic control crew for the tower and one controller did not turn up for work. Media reports said a relief controller arrived after 2.5 hours. The aircraft was inbound from London Stansted and had 150 passengers onboard. They were taken on coaches from Schönefeld to Altenburg, and passengers waiting in Altenburg for the return flight were taken to Schönefeld. A spokesperson of the "Tower Company", a subsidiary of the national German air navigation service provider Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), which operates facilities on regional airports, said an internal investigation into the incident had been launched. The main questions will be for how long there was no controller on the tower and under what circumstances the controller on the previous shift was able to leave the position without hand-over.

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