A French mayor has declared that air traffic controllers should be substituted with military personnel following a near-miss incident involving an EasyJet flight at Nice airport. On September 21, EasyJet flight 4706 to Nantes encountered a near-miss collision with a Tunisian Nouvelair jet.
The flight was reportedly compelled to increase power to prevent a collision. According to initial findings from the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) probe, the aircraft from Tunisia was attempting to land on the wrong runway – consequently, the BEA is categorising the occurrence as a ‘serious incident’.
Whilst the investigation continues, Nice mayor Christian Estrosi vowed that he would petition the French government to substitute air traffic controllers with military personnel. The unexpected announcement was delivered during a Nice City Council meeting on Wednesday, October 1, with the topic not originally being placed on the meeting’s agenda.
‘We’ve had enough of air traffic controllers’
Rather, the city council was discussing a survey of Nice airport users with the aim of enhancing expectations.
Nevertheless, during the debate Mr Estrosi said: “At our next city council meeting, I will propose that the French government replace our air traffic controllers with military personnel. We’ve had enough of air traffic controllers and the DGAC (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), which is incapable of keeping them in check.”
He subsequently told journalists: “‘We are increasingly penalised by the unacceptable behaviour of air traffic controllers in both Nice and Aix-en-Provence. This has economic and social consequences.”
During the incident, an EasyJet spokesperson stated: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is EasyJet’s highest priority and in line with procedures, we are fully cooperating with the safety investigation that has been launched in order to understand what happened.”
At capacity, the pair of aircraft would have been transporting more than 300 passengers and crew members combined. Reports suggest the EasyJet pilot claimed there was merely three metres separating the two planes.
The mayor’s proposal will face a vote at the upcoming city council session. Air traffic management in France is presently handled by civil servants.
To secure such positions, candidates typically must be graduates of the French National Civil Aviation School (ENAC). Whilst certain airspace falls under military air traffic controller jurisdiction, this does not currently apply to Nice Airport.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, 72 air traffic controllers are presently operational in Nice.