Degraded situation awareness and problems in recovery in air traffic control

Collaboration among air traffic controllers (controllers) is increasingly seen as essential for safe and efficient air traffic control (ATC). Gyles and Bearman’s (2017) collaborative work framework has been influential in explaining how controllers proactively manage operations within multiple constraints; however, it does not clearly define the roles of situation awareness and monitoring. Situation awareness involves controllers’ understanding of the current and future states of the system and supports effective decision-making. This study explores how degraded situation awareness develops, how it is detected, and why recovery can be challenging. The dataset included 24 ATC-related incident reports involving reduced safety margins, including actual or imminent loss of separation. A combined top-down and bottom-up thematic analysis was conducted. Degraded situation awareness was linked to ambiguity, missed information, limited mental model variation, and expectation effects. Controllers recognized degraded situation awareness in fewer than one-third of cases; in most cases, it was identified collaboratively, with assistance from other controllers, automation, or a combination of both. Difficulties in recovery involved poor plan execution, inappropriate use of contingency plans, plan continuation errors, late resolution, and reluctance to sacrifice efficiency. During recovery, controllers often acted without fully re-establishing situation awareness, with new goals, plans, and actions influenced by those that were previously active. The results provide practical suggestions to enhance detection and recovery processes and support a revised collaborative framework that explicitly integrates situation awareness and monitoring.