Meet the women who keep our skies safe

They’re in a profession which never fails to spark interest, 17 women between Kingston and Montego Bay, who help guide thousands of aircraft flying over Jamaica’s airspace.

Working in a male-dominated industry – the women work with 47 men – these women haven’t failed to hold their own. From Sangster International to Norman Manley, to the Kingston centre, these women have been quietly doing this 24-hour, seven-days-a-week job, and from all accounts, they’re loving it.

Yesterday, under the theme Nationbuilders: Unsung Heroes, Air Traffic Controllers week got to a start, with a church service at Swallowfield Chapel. Activities will continue throughout the week, culminating on Oct 20 with Air traffic controllers Day, which will be celebrated with a long-service recognition ceremony.

1. Claudine Patterson, Montego Bay approach controller. She entered the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in May 1989. She said she heard a career talk at Montego Bay High and became interested. Age was a factor and she failed on her first attempt, but succeeded on the second. She has been an air traffic controller since 1992.

2. 25-year-old Cheretia Henry is a Sangster approach controller. She entered the CAA in June 2003 after hearing a career talk at Mt Alvernia High. She has been an air traffic controller since September 2006.

3. Karen Green is a Sangster approach controller. She entered the CAA in June 1994. She is a qualified registered nurse and mother of a three-year-old boy. She said she met someone in air traffic control and the person sparked her interest. She has been at Sangster approach since 1997.

4. Peta-Gay Berry is a Norman Manley radar approach controller. She has been a controller since 2001 and is currently on maternity leave. She joined air traffic because she wanted a challenge and did not want to be doing the same thing over and over. She also did not want to do a job where she had to take work home with her.

5. Nicoli Gabbidon has been with the CAA since 1999 and an approach radar controller for six years. She heard about the job at a career day in high school.

6. Marsha Escoe has been at the CAA since 2000. She has been an approach controller for two years. She studied chemical engineering at UTECH and was working in that field but saw a CAA ad in the paper and applied. She is the mother of a seven-year-old boy.

7. Linneth Foster has been an air traffic controller for 19 years. She said someone introduced her to air traffic and it seemed interesting so she applied for the job and she loves it.

8. Marilyn Yates has been an air traffic controller for over 15 years. She entered in 1990.

9. Jennifer Douglas is the longest serving female air traffic controller, having served over 20 years. She is an area radar controller at the Kingston centre.

10. Gayle Young has been an air traffic controller for eight years. She is a Norman Manley approach controller.

11. Chrissie Callender has been an air traffic controller for six years. She is an approach controller stationed at the tower, Norman Manley. She has always been fascinated with aviation but accidently fell into it. She is currently pursuing her private pilot licence, which she hopes to complete shortly.

12. Lisa Green is an approach controller at Norman Manley. She has been an air traffic controller since 2002.

13. Charmaine Miles is a Sangster radar approach controller. She said she was told how exciting the job was and needed a break from the banking sector, so she took up the challenge. She still finds it exciting, since no two days are alike.

14. Denise Adams entered the CAA in 1990 and has been a controller since 1992. She is currently an area controller at the Kingston centre. She aways wanted to fly, but it was too expensive so she thought the next best thing was air traffic.

15. Dionne Foster is a Sangster approach controller. She has been in the service for seven years.

16. Suzilee McLean Chambers is general secretary for the Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers’ Association. She is an area radar controller/instructor. She said she had just graduated from UTECH, and was a trained teacher, but couldn’t find a job. She saw an ad in the paper and applied even though she had never heard about air traffic before. She is mother of a four-year-old girl and has been in the service for eight years.

Missing

17. Coral Richards-McLaren is an air traffic control instructor who has been with the CAA since 1987 as aerodrome/approach controller and area radar controller. She has a three-year-old daughter and a management degree.

12 things you may not have known about Jamaica’s air traffic controllers

1. Air traffic controllers are not the persons on the ground at the airport guiding the aeroplanes with the neon colour wand. These persons are called marshallers.

2. Not all air traffic controllers are located at the tower at the airport. Some are located at the Kingston Air Traffic Control Centre in Half-Way- Tree.

3. Air traffic controllers are not only responsible for guiding arriving and departing flights to and from our airports, but also for guiding thousands of other aircraft flying over Jamaica’s airspace going to and from countries in North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia and Europe.

4. Jamaica’s air traffic controllers are responsible for providing the service within airspace of 125,000NM, which also incorporates the airspace over the Cayman Islands.

5. There are routes in the sky that aircraft fly on depending on their destination. This is similar to the roads on the ground that a person would drive on depending on their destination.

6. Air traffic controllers instruct the pilot of an aircraft when it is safe to climb, descend, turn, slow down or speed up to prevent one aircraft from colliding with another.

7. Air traffic control is ranked one of the most stressful jobs in the world.

8. Air traffic controllers may be liable for prosecution if an aircraft accident occurs.

9. Jamaica’s airspace is one of the safest in the world.

10. At present, there are only 64 active air traffic controllers here in Jamaica, including 17 women.

11. At any one time, an air traffic controller is responsible for at least 1,000 lives.

12. Air traffic controllers are trained right here in Jamaica. Training can last up to three years.