Photo: DAN Air
On June 24, 2023, a heated disagreement broke out on social media between Dan Air and Romatsa, in charge of air traffic control in Romania. The reason for the controversy: A Dan Air flight to the newly opened BrașovGhimbav International Airport caused a stir traffic conflict.
In social media posts, Romanian lowcost airline Dan Air accused air traffic controllers of violating regulations by authorizing the departure of another airline’s flight, HiSky, at the expense of priority upon arrival in the Romanian capital.
According to Dan Air, priority should be given to Airbus A320 aircraft flying in adverse weather conditions. The company accused the traffic controllers of “putting the lives of passengers at risk” on board the A320.
Romatsa responded to the allegations with a press release. The air traffic control company stated that Dan Air had not requested the priority landing it was claiming and would have been dealt with appropriately in the event of an emergency. The company also acknowledged that the HiSky flight had received takeoff clearance under Eurocontrol Regulation (EU) 2019/123 and the Dan Air flight had to wait a little longer to land due to capacity issues at the airport.
Dan Air later vowed not to benefit from the state of emergency, although it questioned Romatsa’s assessment of the safety conditions under which a priority landing would be determined. He reiterated that allowing the HiSky flight to take off endangered safety and was incompatible with current air traffic regulations.
For its part, Romatsa emphasized that it provides safe services to around 3,000 aircraft every day without any incidents related to its activity. It was reiterated that the safety of flight DN288 was under no circumstances compromised on that day in June.
Press releases from Dan Air and Romatsa even hinted at a possible litigation between the companies. Dan Air has rejected Romatsa’s interpretation of the safety conditions under which an aircraft can be granted special permission to land. Romatsa, on the other hand, dismissed the airline’s notion that the plane waited more than 15 minutes in dangerous weather conditions.
This is a rare case of public “dirt washing” on a topic so much debated in aviation.