Commercial Airbus A320 had to circle the Mediterranean for an hour as air traffic controller slept

An Air Corsica Airbus A320 was forced to circle the skies for an hour above Corsica because the air controller wasn’t giving clear instructions.

To be even more accurate, the air controller – apparently there was only one on duty – wasn’t responding at all, and so the Air Corsica pilot had no alternative but to wait.

Everyone was gearing up for the worst but, as it turns out, the controller was reportedly simply asleep.

While the situation was resolved the moment they woke up, it raised an important alarm.

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What happened to this Air Corsica Airbus A320

An Air Corsica Airbus A320 was approaching the small French island, on its way from Paris Orly, when something strange happened.

As they approached Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport, the pilot and co-pilot radioed the air controllers asking for permission and instructions to land.

But the air controllers weren’t responding, and the Airbus wasn’t given the all-clear to land.

This situation went on for about an hour.

According to the Times, regional controllers from other airports nearby instructed the plane to simply hold over the Gulf of Ajaccio while the situation was resolved. 

Firefighters and police were called to intervene, and they must have been surprised when they broke into the control tower.

First, there was only one air controller and second, they were asleep.

The lone controller was later tested for drugs and alcohol, and the result came back clean.

The controller had simply nodded off.

This raises an important alarm

The aviation industry is heavily regulated.

Passengers are familiar with airport rules: liquid restrictions, arriving two hours early for flights, keeping devices in airplane mode, and so on and so forth.

With that in mind, the Air Corsica incident seems easily avoidable with a backup controller on duty.

Many assume airports always have at least two controllers on duty.

Clearly, that’s not always true.