Australia’s world-class aviation safety record is being jeopardised by a series of recent runway near misses at Sydney and Melbourne airports, with a shortage of air traffic controllers likely playing a role, according to a leading aviation lawyer. “A 350-person fireball was avoided only by chance,” he said. Controller shortage a global issueCarter said there was a worldwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and while Airservices Australia had done a good job recruiting, training controllers to full qualification takes up to 12 months. “Its recruiting program should have been started years earlier, as had been urged by the air traffic controllers’ union Civil Air,” he said. “The recent Jetstar and Qatar Airways near miss should serve as a warning that Australia must not become complacent about aviation safety,” he said.