Listen as pilots jump to the defence of Dublin Air Traffic controller over rude BA pilot

A British Airways pilot received a turbulent ride from other air crews yesterday after he argued with an air traffic controller at Dublin Airport, writes Patrick Flynn.

The verbal exchange was overheard on an airport radio frequency and later posted on social media.

Several aircraft suffered delays yesterday after a transatlantic jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Dublin.

Aircraft due to depart were held up for a time and the majority of pilots waited patiently for their turn to taxi and take off.

The pilot of British Airways (BA) flight BAW-837 (BAW-81D) from Dublin to London Heathrow took exception to the hold-up.

The BA flight had been cleared to be pushed back from its stand, but the ground crew stopped during the procedure.

The BA pilot called air traffic controller to query this decision. The controller advised the pilot that she had tried call him over the radio but he hadn’t responded.

The controller told the pilot: “Yeah, I was trying to call you sir,” and then said that an Aer Lingus aircraft was pushing back and when they were clear, he could then push back and start his engines.

The pilot acknowledged the instruction but told the controller: “You should have told us that before really.”

The controller replied: “I was trying to call you sir, you weren’t listening out but they (Aer Lingus) were also cautioned reference you, they were supposed to give way.”

The pilot retorted: “I wasn’t listening out because we were talking to the ground crew and they’re telling us the same thing, so you’re a bit late.”

“I’m just too busy to continue any further conversation about this on frequency,” the controller told the disgruntled pilot.

The pilots of several other aircraft jumped to the controller's defence, broadcasting messages to the effect over the radio.

One pilot said: “You’re doing a great job, thanks very much.”

After a time, the British Airways pilot requested permission to taxi and was cleared to do so and acknowledged his instructions.

Then he said: “And to advise, we will be filing a safety report.”

One pilot replied: “Oh my God” while another called the BA pilot a "tool".

The BA flight finally departed with a delay of about 40 minutes.

A similar incident involving the same airline occurred at Dublin on Christmas Eve, 2014.