LEBAP AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS SEEK BREAK WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000394

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2017
TAGS: EAIR PGOV PREL TX
SUBJECT: LEBAP AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS SEEK BREAK WITH
TURKMEN AIRLINES

ASHGABAT 00000394 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Jennifer L. Brush for reasons 1.
4 (B) and (D).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Air traffic controllers in Turkmenabat put forth in
a March 21 conversation to PDOFF a litany of complaints of
bad management within state airline Turkmenhowayollary (THY)
and asked for embassy advice in attempts to found a
government agency for air traffic control under the direct
management of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov. The two
controllers, colleagues at the Turkmenabat airport, explained
that reform was urgent because of practices at the company
that directly threatened the safety of airplane passengers as
well as the security of Turkmenistan,s airspace. The two
also expressed a conviction that they faced certain firing if
they revealed their views to company management or other
government officials -- because air traffic control nets the
company most of its revenue. End Summary.

LONG SIMMERING COMPLAINTS
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2. (SBU) According to the two controllers,
Turkmenhowayollary employs 210 air traffic controllers and
about 300 support technicians. These traffic controllers
patrol all of Turkmenistan,s air space, in liaison with the
military on cases of national security importance. The air
traffic component of the company brings in 70% of the
company,s revenue, from fees assessed on foreign aircraft
overflying or landing on Turkmenistan,s territory. If the
controllers were to separate from THY, the company would have
to undergo major reform of its pricing system in order to
survive. (Comment: Domestic and foreign tickets on THY are
heavily subsidized for Turkmenistani citizens and foreigners
with diplomatic status; a 40-minute flight from Ashgabat to
Mary, for example, costs about $2.50, cheaper than a taxi or
train ride -- and much faster. End Comment.)


3. (SBU) According to the controllers, despite their
significant role, they received second-class treatment when
compared to that of pilots at the company, damaging morale to
the point that it may adversely affect controllers'
performance. This difference in treatment includes
opportunities and requirements for training, work hours and
benefits. Controllers are required to devote free days to
picking cotton during the months of August, September and
October ) a duty from which pilots are exempt. Controllers
are required by their job to speak English in order to
effectively communicate with incoming craft, but are not
provided the training to attain the appropriate level of
English proficiency (Note: One controller attended several
weeks of basic English training in summer 2006 but his
language level outpaced that of the course, indicating that
though in some cases this training is provided, the teaching
is not tailored to participants, proficiency. End Note.)
Controllers who call in sick run the immediate risk of losing
their job because they are seen as dispensible by company
management who do not understand the role of controllers; as
a result, controllers tend to work even when ill, avoid
getting medical treatment at hospital or bribe their medical
professionals for a clean bill of health.


4. (SBU) According to these sources, controllers in
Turkmenistan patrol a larger area of airspace than their
counterparts in other countries ) leading to questions of
controller effectiveness and air traffic safety. Because of
the relatively small pool of controllers, there is often no
backup controller on duty at any of Turkmenistan,s airports
at any given time. The air traffic monitoring equipment is
outdated by international standards, and controllers do not

ASHGABAT 00000394 002.2 OF 002


receive regular training or technical reviews to ensure
compliance with international standards of air traffic safety.


5. (SBU) In terms of general airport conditions, runway
length at the airports is insufficient for the planes they
accommodate by at least 100 meters and the runways themselves
are in poor condition. The small Boeing aircraft in
Turkmenhowayollary,s fleet are not engineered to withstand
well the frequent 1-hour or 40-minute flights they perform,
putting an inordinate and ill-advised degree of wear and tear
on the craft; there is also inadequate maintenance of the
craft, according to the controllers.


6. (C) The more experienced of the two controllers, a
non-ethnic-Turkmen male in his late forties, has been working
in the Lebap airport as a controller for over 15 years. In
1991, he successfully appealed to officials in the then
Soviet-controlled Government of Turkmenistan to equalize the
status of pilots and controllers. As a result of his protest
in Turkmenabat ) the only one that took place in
Turkmenistan on behalf of controllers ) all controllers in
Turkmenistan and the rest of the states of the Soviet Union
were granted the rights of pilots, including retirement by
the age of 51, a pay raise, and 70 days of vacation per year.
The two controllers in question believe that most of these
employees would support reform of THY to ensure greater
autonomy and rights for air traffic controllers, but that
most were afraid to challenge the status quo.


7. (C) The above controller said he had been encouraged to
speak with PDOFF when the opportunity arose because he had
briefly met embassy's DATT when he was in Lebap in late March
to assist THY in moving a radio tower. The controller
reported that he had asked DATT about embassy sponsored
opportunities to learn English (Note: The controller speaks
only enough English to issue basic air traffic control
commands but cannot converse in English. End Note.) Post is
currently helping THY reform its air traffic control
practices so that Turkmenistan's airspace can accomodate more
flights.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (SBU) The controllers, despite the emotion of their
appeal, did not appear to have unrealistic expectations of
embassy influence over THY, but were hopeful that the embassy
might be able to influence the host government should a
window of opportunity open. PDOFF emphasized to the
controllers that in order for the embassy to have such
influence, the host government must first take initial steps
to reform THY as a company, rather than treat it as a state
social service. Just days after the reported conversation,
President Berdimuhammedov appointed a new director of THY,
whose intentions vis-a-vis reform still remain unclear. End
Comment.
BRUSH