Under the three-year deal with Airways International, the commercial arm of Airways New Zealand, Airservices will trial the TotalControl mobile training simulator, including Airways staff acting as pilots for remote instruction.
The ambitious system, designed to unite civil and military air traffic control across Australia, was originally conceived after a 2009 national aviation white paper but was later added as a ‘project of concern’ in 2017.
The three-year agreement would give ATCs an 11.2 per cent pay rise as well as “significant improvements” to current conditions including allowances, and will be sent to staff for a ballot between 28 June and 3 July.