Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 13
Situational Awareness; Workload; Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Distraction
ATC Issue All Types; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic; Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Weather; Human Factors; Procedure
I took over the sector with aircraft deviating on the HUSTN arrival and a procedure worked out with CLT Approach that they would accept aircraft deviating north and they would take care of internal point outs.  After several aircraft made it through the hole Aircraft X said he did not want to work back to the west.  So I asked the following aircraft if they would rather turn back south and join the arrival from the south around the weather.  Several chose this option.  My D-side called CLT Approach to make sure they were ok with this plan.  Their Traffic Management Unit (TMU) (who makes these decisions for the arrival) said it would be ok.  We were told by our TMU to give the 10 Miles In Trail (MIT).  The first aircraft from the south got in and was taken by CLT East Arrival Aircraft Y.  Then we were told CLT was no longer accepting aircraft.  Aircraft Z and Aircraft A were too far into the weather to turn around and got into CLT airspace.  We tried to call many times and neither CLT East Arrival or East Departure would answer the line.  Both aircraft we issued clearances to make U-Turns.  East Arrival never called about the aircraft inside their airspace even though they now had several departures aimed right at him and didn't know what he was doing.  Aircraft A made a slow u turn and eventually East departure took the hand off. There were several times during this weather episode and about an hour earlier in which I was given the instruction to hold CLT aircraft and then I was told they were taking them with MIT.  When we would call the controller they said the arrival was not open.  So aircraft were being issued holding instructions/clearances/and holding again.  Also when they accepted several on trial; our flow told us to work aircraft out of holding stacks which were clear of weather to get them closer to CLT and they would take them one at a time.  This plan of moving aircraft through weather into gaps with the hope that the arrival will soon be open seemed to contribute to an unsafe situation for controllers as well as aircraft.  Also departing aircraft into weather that are going to deviate when we have airplanes airborne holding to get into the airport who will all want to use the same gap increased the complexity of weather deviations as well as creates dangerous situations.  No explanation was ever given as to why CLT wouldn't answer the landlines.    Arrivals need to be shut down when aircraft can't fly the arrival without minor deviations.  Information about holding aircraft needs to be given before aircraft get into weather.
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Jacksonville Center (ZJX) controllers report of a session where aircraft would not fly through weather and turned away from it. The controllers tried to hand off the aircraft; but Approach Control would not answer land lines. Confusion ensued when the controllers were told that Approach was taking aircraft. They called Approach and they said they were not taking aircraft.