[Alastair]

The NOTAMs show that from 26th March until 20th June all grass runways, NDB, DME, ATIS and instrument approaches are not available due to ATC staff shortages. Surely with ATC staff shortages the norm is to shut for short periods throughout the day to comply with SRATCOH, rather than completely withdrawing the service.

Also the airfield is closed completely for 3 days during March. What gives?

[James Chan]

the norm is to shut for short periods throughout the day

I should hope no airport turns away all traffic for periods through the day due to ATC staff shortages.
Nobody wants another "Cranfield" repeat.

The French just revert to uncontrolled for periods and remains open with limitations when uncontrolled.

[G-AFZP]

A little birdie tells me that they have a dire shortage of controllers. An application to reduce the service to A/G status has been submitted to the CAA but has yet to be approved so, for the moment,they are stuck with what they've got (or haven't got as the case may be).

[Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28]

Five controllers have quit in recent months so the airfield will operate with A/G only for most of spring / early summer while new controllers (inc SATCO) are recruited and trained.

The airfield will close completely for 3 days in March.

As to the underlying reason for the shortage, I know nothing.

[flybymike]

I wonder who is snaffling them......

[chevvron]

I wonder who is snaffling them......

ANSPs offering more money than Shoreham?
I know someone who used to be Airport Manager there and who contributes to this forum; maybe he knows more and will come on this thread to explain.
In fact I know 2 ex managers (the Haf and one of his successors) but as far as I'm aware only one of them is on here.

[Iceman]

The real bugger being that without ATC, all instrument approaches are NOTAM'd as unavailable until June .

Iceman

[chevvron]

The real bugger being that without ATC, all instrument approaches are NOTAM'd as unavailable until June .

Iceman

As I've said before, needs a controller with a valid APP rating.
To validate the rating at a new airfield you need to do a certain number of hours training by a person who already has that valid rating but I'm afraid I don't know how many that is. If it was APS (approach radar) it would be anything up to a minimum of 120 hours of which only 4 hours per day may be counted even if you do (say) an 8 hour shift, so you see it takes a considerable time to train a new controller at a civil airfield.

[chevvron]

A little birdie tells me that they have a dire shortage of controllers. An application to reduce the service to A/G status has been submitted to the CAA but has yet to be approved so, for the moment,they are stuck with what they've got (or haven't got as the case may be).

The CAA have a mandate to 'require' an airport operator to provide a certain level of service.
If they decide A/G is not sufficient, there may be no choice but to close the airfield.
I know Redhill are (or at least were when I used to fly there about 14 years ago) allowed to reduce from ATC for AFIS for limited periods when short of staff.

[Paul_Sengupta]

Shoreham were going to go AFIS some years back, but all the training schools campaigned otherwise due to lack of instrument training under such a service. As I remember, anyway.

[Gertie]

the norm is to shut for short periods throughout the day

I should hope no airport turns away all traffic for periods through the day due to ATC staff shortages.

A series of half hour closures has been known at Cambridge. Traffic that arrived a few minutes early (on the day I was one of them) sorted itself out in the overhead, and was then called down in sequence the moment the controller got back on (so he must have been listening to the chatter on "Cambridge traffic" whilst on his break).

Of course if one had had a problem one would have landed anyway and argued later, but, equally "of course", even if someone had turned up not having read the NOTAM they wouldn't have had less than half an hour's reserve fuel, would they. (I had over an hour. But my passenger didn't know that, and was getting worried, although he didn't say anything until afterwards. There's a learning point on every flight.)

[chevvron]

the norm is to shut for short periods throughout the day

I should hope no airport turns away all traffic for periods through the day due to ATC staff shortages.

A series of half hour closures has been known at Cambridge. Traffic that arrived a few minutes early (on the day I was one of them) sorted itself out in the overhead, and was then called down in sequence the moment the controller got back on (so he must have been listening to the chatter on "Cambridge traffic" whilst on his break).

Of course if one had had a problem one would have landed anyway and argued later, but, equally "of course", even if someone had turned up not having read the NOTAM they wouldn't have had less than half an hour's reserve fuel, would they. (I had over an hour. But my passenger didn't know that, and was getting worried, although he didn't say anything until afterwards. There's a learning point on every flight.)

Controllers must take a minimum 30 min break for every 2 hours of operational duty. During this 30 min they are not permitted to carry out any ATC related activity or provide AFIS.(but nothing to stop an assistant from collecting callsigns and listing them in the order which they called up).

[Sir Morley Steven]

The real bugger being that without ATC, all instrument approaches are NOTAM'd as unavailable until June .

Iceman

The RNAV can be flown

[CloudHound]

The person who has the controlling influence over strategy at Shoreham has a plan. I don't know what that plan is, nor who that person is.

If part of the plan is to not employ sufficient staff to man the necessary posts during the published hours of operation, then the consequences must have been considered.

[Alastair]

Sir Morley Steven wrote:

The RNAV can be flown

Sadly not since one of the NOTAMs states:

Q) EGTT/QPIAU/I/NBO/A/000/999/5050N00018W005

B) FROM: 18/03/26 07:00C) TO: 18/06/20 19:00
E) INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURES SUSPENDED. PILOTS ARE NOT TO FLY
KNOWN PROFILES.