The Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Association (JATCA) says there needs to be a risk analysis of new equipment to prevent a recurrence of yesterday's breakdown in the communication link at the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA).
One of the networks which support the system failed, resulting in the shutdown of communication in the air traffic unit, as well as the radar used to monitor aircraft. Stemming from this, flights had to be diverted around Jamaica's air space.
Kurt Solomon, President of JATCA, told RJR News that the system is fairly new, and had continuous testing been done, this would have limited the chances of the incident occurring.
"What this is saying to us is that the authorities, aside from conducting an investigation into this failure, they need to be more proactive in conducting risk analysis. And an anaylysis of such would have allowed the authorities to see where the risks are and to put contingencies in place so we could minimize the effects on our customers," he said.
The communication link was restored shortly after the incident .
Meanwhile, Mike Henry, Opposition Spokesman on Transport, has pledged that he will be going to the House of Representatives next week to seek answers on the equipment crisis at the JCAA.
Henry plans to table questions for Transport Minister Dr. Omar Davies, to update the country on the situation.
"I want to get a hold of the Chairman of the JCAA to be able to really find out( what happened).... the last time I heard we had procurement delays....certainly emergency procurement should be implemented ....."
He said the lack of attention regarding the state of the country's air traffic equipment is adversely affecting the delivery of first class service, charging that the challenges are due to negligence, as the issue of malfunctioning equipment is well known.
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