Air traffic controllers of the Israel Airports Authority are taking part in refresher workshops in teamwork, in the wake of one of the recommendations of the committee investigating the Iberia aircraft event in February. By the end of October three groups of air traffic controllers will have completed the refresher workshops.

The aim of the refresher workshops in teamwork for air traffic controllers is to improve the safety and the quality of air traffic controllers' work in the Ben Gurion Airport control tower as well as in other control situations.

The workshops take place in groups of about 12-16 participants, and combine theoretical study and practical experience. The workshops demonstrate applications from the Crew Resource Management teamwork model in the area of aviation, analyze aviation events, and teach a unique model of efficient communication in task groups. The workshop also deals with the understanding and structuring of work procedures and the flow of information and communication between the people handling traffic in the control tower.

The air controllers' workshops are run by Psifas, a company that specializes in teamwork, particularly in the area of aviation. The company is headed by Dr. Yossi Shuv, a senior pilot in El-Al, Major-General Gil Regev, Dr. Eyal Goshen (a former pilot and a psychologist) and Dr. Ariel Lehman. The company has experience in running teamwork workshops in the field of aviation in both the air force and in El Al.

In the two-day workshops exceptional security events are analyzed, including identifying the “human-factor links” that contributed to their occurrence, and teamwork skills are practiced by analyzing the issues to be focused on and improved in order to ensure safer and more efficient work. At the same time, the Airport Authority is embarking on a process of developing teamwork theory, a subject that will be practiced in air traffic controllers' workshops.

Meanwhile, the Acting CEO of the Airports Authority, Mr. Shmuel Kendal, held a meeting with a broad forum of air controllers with the aim of promoting cooperation between management and the controllers in order to improve and upgrade safety measures, as part of the implementation of the interim recommendations of the American FAA team.