ATC, Philippines
After having a surprise visit with Kuya Nel at his father's wake, I accompanied Che to her workplace and snagged snacks and a souvenir pic.
Who can resist sitting down and pretending to be an almighty air-traffic controller?
And before my battery succumbed to an unwilling shutdown, here's one last shot of me emulating an overworked and stressed ATC, albeit a still-smiling eye-bagged one!
And before my battery succumbed to an unwilling shutdown, here's one last shot of me emulating an overworked and stressed ATC, albeit a still-smiling eye-bagged one!
P.S. This was the time I heard PAL pilots were resigning en masse :-)
Not because I was the one sitting, I assure you....LOL
Not because I was the one sitting, I assure you....LOL
ATC's work is said to be most stressful but a really good paying job! I'd think it would be a highly restricted area, nag panggap kang Traffic Enforcer no!
ReplyDeleteI think for Filipino ATCs, its not as good-paying as it should be...
ReplyDeleteI thought super restricted din...however, since I was with Che, they didn't pay me any mind (or maybe they thought I looked like one...LOL with all my eyebags and stressed features)
Hahaha... meron ka din pala nito. I was never able to publish mine. Che also allowed us to take a peek (and some photos) inside her work place (can't remember na nga when that was). What surprised me though is the fact that this is located far from the airport itself. I always imagined that Che's workplace in at the airport, specifically high up on the tower. Mahanap nga yung mga photos namin dun.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Che can firm this, but I read somewhere that many Filipino air traffic controllers have gone to work in other countries (just like the recently reported workers at our weather bureau) because of the higher pay aside form the better/more modern equipment.
ReplyDeletemaybe one of the times she hitched a ride or you dropped her off at the airport from one of our foodie-eyeballs?
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited Singapore, it was Loo who pointed out to me that ATCs' office are not in the actual airport itself.
Like you, I also had that imagined scene of ATCs being at the airport for work...(iniisip ko yata movies...or maybe if their equipment goes down they can be there to witness the airplane being landed heroically by the hero...teka..movie nga yon!)
I would be confident on saying it is true (because I've heard Che talk on this matter).
ReplyDelete..not only ATCs but also pilots (such as the recent case)...I don't know if Che mentioned it to you but she was thinking of going to work nga in another country as an ATC...you know naman our government here...*pursed lips*
also, I'm not surprised if they have better equipment (outside I mean)...its a tribute to our Filipino ATC's ingenuity and steadfastness that even with all the challenges of the equipment, they get the job done magnificently. Imagine what they could do with the best equipment!
i think its one of the highest paying jobs in the US...bec. it is one of the most stressful jobs on earth.
ReplyDeletereminded me of the movie Tin Men...w/ Billy Bob Thornton.
i thought it would be like in a tower close to the airport...i wonder if Che had any of these Close Encounter of the 3rd Kind scenarios
ay..I heard medyo frightening daw kausapin mga ATCs sa NY..yung sa JFK...hehehe..
ReplyDeletebakit naman 3rd kind?
ReplyDelete*imagines UFO radioing the tower for clearance on the potholed runway*
I remember telling Che about it. And she told me na meron din daw talagang ganun sa tower pero only for the purpose of the actual landings lang kasi kailangan din yata ng visual confirmation. Well, maybe we'll hear directly from Che the exact reasons.
ReplyDeleteyou don't remember the scene when the pilots report to the control tower, seeing fast moving & brilliant flashing lights?
ReplyDeleteweren't they just drunk?
ReplyDeleteonly if we ask her in FB :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, that means, I won't know about it. But there's always Google any way. And here's one I saw - http://www.armedforces-int.com/upload/image_files/articles/images/companies/963/air-traffic-control-1b.jpg
ReplyDeleteLooks like it is not in a tower.
ang hi-tek tingnan...*sigh*
ReplyDeleteanyway, maybe for smaller airports ok lang yan ATC sa tower...but for bigger ones, if they don't need visual confirmation nga of a flight (and with bigger airports, the traffic would be so snarly that who needs it)...hence the reason why they can just put the ATCs far away from the actual airport...
remember before when we had police manning corner outposts and directing auto traffic?
ReplyDeletetapos it became computerized...my gosh..I wonder if I will ever get to the time that even flight landing and departures will be fully automated...waaah....takot ako~
Kaka-bas ko lang: Yung tower pala is important for airport ground traffic also, i.e. para may visual guide kung clear ang runway. Yung katulad ng kina Che, the info is based on radar data (not the visual one).
ReplyDeleteoh dear and imagine all those times nagkaproblem equipment nila..and even leaks sa loob from rain...
ReplyDeleteChe mentioned may bagong equipment nga daw parating..but...and the big but...mas pangit kaysa kanilang ginagamit ngayon yata...eeek...
This is a very dangerous and potentially fatal situation. It's like driving at night in a dark and unfamiliar road with your car headlights turned off.
ReplyDeleteyeah...but you know..its like those billboards that topple down only in storms..only a big brouhaha is done when may mangyari...then after that silent na naman ulit..
ReplyDeletethese people on top seem to just let it slide..ano ba yan, ganito na lang ba palagi dito sa Pinas? I can take the other shortcomings ng govt but this is not something to be compromised...
I totally agree. Safety must be the most overriding concern. It's unfortunate though that our society seems to be a fatalistic one underscored by "bahala na attitude."
ReplyDeletemaybe we should wait for one of the bigwigs to get caught in a "situation"
ReplyDeleteMaybe. But it's not just in the air transport sector where the issue of safety is taken for granted. Sa construction industry din. How many times have we read about accidents in construction sites? Pero parang wala lang. Accidents continue to happen regularly in this area.
ReplyDeleteWill come back to this when I get home.
ReplyDeleteno problemo Peachy Mommy...I hope you are not stressed with household projects :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Cat. No, not really stressed......simply busy.
ReplyDeleteWas it "mother-daughter day at the workplace" kaya dinala ka ni mama Che to her job site? (^_^)
Another interesting experience for you, I'm sure.
wow! nasa hot seat ka pala! bagay cat, bagay...
ReplyDeleteLOL...I think Che took pity on me because I was dropping not-so-subtle hints that I was hungry ...and the nearest to get snacks would be at her office...
ReplyDeleteof course, shempre for the photo op *wink* sayang nga lang..last dregs na of my battery ang cam ko...
otherwise I'd have asked her to take photos of me all over the equipment...LOL
waaah..kaya ko lang to if may mound of food by my side...
ReplyDeleteI hope you got those planes in safely.
ReplyDeletethe planes may have turned away and said they'd land somewhere else...if they knew I was there...LOL
ReplyDeleteGusto ko ring makapunta dyan! Che, pwede? :-)
ReplyDeletesabihin ko kay Che, dapat isama mo si Gari before ka makapunta... *smiles*
ReplyDeletebtw F8..since am not sure if nasa FB ka..I sent a msg to Pearl and Che and Marie..
ReplyDeletekita kits tayo naman sa PICCA Fest...and if kaya and interested kayo..dun sa FAME...Oct 22-25 ang former..Oct 18-21 ang latter..
Oo ba. :-)
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't. It's just Multiply. :-)
ReplyDeleteyay, I found two...F8 and Tochie...
ReplyDeleteGems are a rare find, Cat.
ReplyDeletethey are indeed! kaya its like finding treasure...
ReplyDelete