An Open Letter to the Cross the Pond Planning Team

[Evan Reiter]

CTP Team:

 

ZBW was proud to once again participate in Cross the Pond as a supporting/overflight facility this past weekend. We are grateful that IAD was selected as an arrival field, which kept our Center controllers busy sequencing many of their arrivals throughout the event.

 

Unfortunately, we could not apply for KBOS to be an arrival field this year due to limited controller availability. The date for Cross the Pond was announced only 5 weeks prior to the event, which did not provide enough time for many of our controllers to ensure their schedules would be free. The exact same scenario played out in 2018.

 

Respectfully, we believe a month is not enough time to successfully plan and execute VATSIM’s largest event and achieve exceptional results; it certainly isn’t for us. In ZBW’s case, many of our most active Center controllers bid for their schedules on a monthly basis. On February 26, when the 2019 CTP date was announced on the VATSIM forums, many of us already had conflicting work schedules that precluded our involvement in the event.

 

When we polled our controller community in the lead-up to the event, less than 20% of our 20+ Center certified controllers and visitors were available. In many cases, these were individuals who bid monthly schedules, and already had a March schedule confirmed by the time the Cross the Pond date was announced.

 

VATSIM is an aviation community. Many VATSIM members are fortunate enough to work careers in commercial aviation. That means they work flexible schedules, weekends, and evenings, and that a weekend doesn’t always mean a day off. No doubt, someone will always be upset that they were not available for Cross the Pond. However, if the date is announced a little further in advance, the number of available controllers dramatically increases within our ARTCC.

 

Is there something limiting the event from being announced earlier? Is it possible to announce the date for CTP at least 2-3 months in advance so more controllers and pilots can plan to be involved? Maybe you could even announce the next date during the event (i.e., while pilots fly CTP Westbound, announce the date for Eastbound in a broadcast message).

 

Thank you for the work you do in creating VATSIM’s largest event! We look forward to supporting the effort and our neighbors during CTP Eastbound later this year.

[Andreas Fuchs]

It would be cool, if the date of the following CTP could be announced right after the last one. I agree with you.

[Nathan Rankin 1374353]

I agree. Announcing the date earlier would bolster the number of controllers and pilots able to participate, and would not only result in better ATC coverage, but provide a more diverse selection of arrival/departure fields for pilots to vote on. I think it may even make sense to set an official CTP weekend (every last Saturday in March/October for example).

[Robert Shearman Jr]

Same applies to those who wish to fly in it, by the way, in case anyone is interested.

 

I understand it's a huge undertaking, but I can remember as recently as 3-ish years ago that the date and other planning would start to come together maybe two or so months out! I'm not sure what changed between then and now, but I would certainly throw my encouragement at starting the process a little earlier than what we've seen for the last couple.

[Josh Nunn]

Completely agree. Cross The Pond is not a 3-4 hour evening event. It is a full day commitment, something that many people are not prepared to make without a few months notice.

 

I don’t want to speak on behalf of other facilities but I speculate that the pain of being understaffed was felt across several parts of North America during CTP:

 

- I observed 2/3 USA ARTCCs hosting arrival fields reaching out for extra controllers on forums.

 

- One of our neighbors was understaffed at the start of the event to the point that they weren’t able to control all the traffic p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ing through their airspace; we [Mod - Happy Thoughts]isted them by finding an extra controller to jump in and help out for a while.

 

Facilities having to bring in controllers who aren’t as familiar with the airspace or who have never even worked it during an event like CTP should be an exception, not an expectation. I believe that having more home controllers on position would improve the overall quality of the event. And I feel like we could get there by just having the date announced earlier.

[Rob Nabieszko]

Amen. I love participating in CTP. I have often bid around the date for my work schedule. I know Toronto had a difficult time finding controllers this year because many key controllers were N/A for that date since the date was announced at the last minute.

 

I appreciate that the planning team puts in lots of work. I have participated in many aspects of the planning process. But I feel like we have perhaps become complacent. The planning team are not the only ones who have to prepare for CTP. The various FIRs and ARTCCs also must plan their resources, and this takes time. 2 weeks notice from the airfield announcement to event day is totally insufficient to organize the needed resources. And it causes lots of extra unneeded stress on those in leadership roles.

 

At the very least, the date should be announced 8 weeks out. Airfield selection should be complete 6 weeks out. This ensures everyone has sufficient time to make plans and bid their schedules appropriately.

 

Thank you to everyone who still helps make CTP a success at all levels. I hope to participate next time.

 

Rob

[Matthew Cianfarani]

The Planning Team have had this discussion already and are in the process of a review of how we do things. We anticipate much more notice before the next event.

[Rob Nabieszko]

The Planning Team have had this discussion already and are in the process of a review of how we do things. We anticipate much more notice before the next event.

 

Thanks Matt. I think we are all happy that the team has heard us on this. I am sure I speak for the rest of the VATSIM community when I say we look forward to the trip back Eastbound!

 

Rob

[Andreas Fuchs]

Great news and thanks for listening to your fans!