Controls the airspace in Northern Norway
As an air traffic controller, Martine ensures safe and efficient air traffic in an airspace that includes 14 airports. At the control center in Bodø, she combines quick decisions and close contact with pilots with training new air traffic controllers.
A random ad
Martine has ten years of experience from the travel industry before she started at Avinor, and the transition to Avinor came somewhat by chance.
– I came across an ad for air traffic controller recruitment and thought it could be exciting to try something completely new. As I learned more about the profession and was offered a place in the program, I quickly became sure that this was an opportunity I wanted to accept, Martine says.
Today she works as an air traffic controller at the control center in Bodø and also has a 50% role as training coordinator.
– My airspace stretches from Bodø down to Røros and Ørsta/Volda, and includes 14 airports. In my role as training coordinator, I set up simulator programs for new students and follow up on the annual tests that all air traffic controllers have to go through, Martine says.
Quick decisions and efficiency
One of the air traffic controllers' most important tasks is to ensure safe and efficient traffic flow in the airspace.
“I communicate with pilots via radio, give instructions, and ensure separation between aircraft. I am also responsible for sequencing aircraft inbound to the airports in the area”
Martine Rødseth
As an air traffic controller, you have to make many decisions quickly and work efficiently.
– The airspace is open around the clock, so there always has to be someone on duty, Martine says.
Work under pressure
To be admitted to the program, you have to go through selection tests that assess the qualities needed to succeed in the profession. These include, for example, spatial awareness, multitasking, mental arithmetic, memory, etc. You must also pass an interview and a medical examination.
– The education is intense and performance-based. You need to be able to make quick and good decisions and be comfortable working under pressure, Martine says.
– I really enjoy that the workdays vary and that a lot of exciting things happen. It is also a job where everything happens there and then, and one that you do not need to bring home with you, Martine says.
As an air traffic controller, you must be prepared to be transferred to any controlled airport or control center in Norway. That makes good colleagues even more important.
– I find the work environment very good, and several of my colleagues have also become close friends. Here in Bodø, many of us are newcomers in the same situation, which makes the environment both inclusive and social, Martine concludes.