Children and avid Santa fans are waiting with bated breath for the big jolly guy in the red suit to ride through the night sky on Christmas Eve with all his reindeer and of course a large sack of toys.
But have you ever wondered how he managed it all, well obviously he prepares all year with the help of his elves and Mrs. Claus, busily making toys to deliver on Christmas Eve to all the boys and girls around the world in his magical workshop at the North Pole, did you know he has help from some air space specialists.
Planning for Santa’s visit to Australia began weeks ago with Australia’s air traffic controllers preparing for the flight through Australian airspace on the busiest night of the year.
Airservices spokesperson Matt Wardell said “our air traffic controllers work closely with Santa and his elves over several weeks to make sure that his visit to Australia is as smooth as possible, this is a pretty complex task as we have to ensure Santa can get to where he needs to go while ensuring all the other aircraft operating that night can still get to their destination on time.”
Air traffic controllers will know exactly where Santa is at all times as his sleigh will broadcast his call sign ‘BIG RED ONE’, position, altitude, velocity and other data twice per second, the accuracy of the information displayed on the controllers screens will allow them to keep other aircraft well clear of Santa’s flight-path and give him priority as he carries out his special deliveries.
For the first time ever Airservices have launched a dedicated; air services tracks Santa face book page www.facebook.com/airservicessanta11 his preparations will also be reported from the official twitter account-@AirservicesNews.
Wait there’s more you can check the Santa 2011 website every day for updates, help decorate Frosty the snowman and read Santa’s top secret note to the air traffic controllers, have a look at the video of Santa trying out his flight path across Australia and very special photos of him planning his route with the air traffic controllers.
Merry Christmas to all.
