Storm lows demand air traffic control – salzburg.ORF.at
traffic
Due to the extreme weather conditions with low storms over large parts of Europe, air traffic control and pilots are currently under pressure. Wind gusts of up to 100 km/h near the ground and storm peaks of more than 600 km/h at high cruising altitudes are currently possible. Salzburg air traffic controllers refer to the important role of local airport meteorologists.
Shorter flight times in one direction, long delays in the other. The stormy weather is currently causing turbulence in European aviation – also in Salzburg. Recently, in addition to the civil winter charter traffic, some large transport aircraft of the German Air Force were in Salzburg to fly troops from mountain training in the Berchtesgadener Land to northern Germany.
Central role of the local airport weather service
For pilots, the big challenge remains that they have to reckon with major turbulence and shear winds in the valley basin of the central Salzburg area in such weather conditions – and strong tail winds on the downwind approach, says Walter Hager, senior air traffic controller at Austro Control on the Salzburg Tower:
“These tailwinds then hit the nose of the aircraft after the tight 180-degree turn in the south to turn into the final approach to our runway 33. The aircraft then has to be reconfigured for this when it descends. If low-hanging clouds from snow showers still impair visibility , it may be that the approach has to be aborted or is not approached at all. The aircraft then goes into a holding pattern in the north of the federal state. The air traffic controllers constantly consult with the local flight weather experts of the Austro Control flight weather service on the Salzburg Tower.
“Maybe planes don’t have a parking lot”
If the planes don’t come to the designated slots where the parking spaces are available, then it’s possible they won’t get a parking space, says Hager: “We had that last Saturday too. A plane that has landed has to wait ten or 15 minutes on the taxiway until a parking space becomes available again. Because the capacities on the ground are simply no longer there, at some point it won’t quite work out in such extreme weather.”
Storm demands air traffic control
This weather means that flights, for example from London to Salzburg – which normally take around 1:50 hours – cover the route in under an hour and a half thanks to the tailwind. The traffic machines reach top speeds of up to 1,200 km/h at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
When approaching Salzburg, the pilots need to have a sure instinct and good nerves. But improvement is in sight: the wind should calm down from Thursday