Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 209
Workload; Human-Machine Interface; Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Fatigue; Time Pressure
ATC Issue All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General None Reported / Taken
Airport; Environment - Non Weather Related; Weather; Procedure; Human Factors
Due to afternoon thunderstorms in the MDW area all traffic was delayed approximately an hour and a half on a ground stop. When we arrived in MDW late at night traffic volume was understandably high yet only one person was working the Tower. All Tower functions were combined including Local; Ground Control and Clearance Delivery. While this Controller did a very commendable job; it was not working well given the huge traffic volume at that time due to the backup of delayed flights. The frequency was constantly clogged; ground traffic became a jumbled mess; and aircraft on final were not issued landing clearances in a timely manner because of the Controller's workload. The entire scenario was a huge safety issue. The Tower needs to be adequately staffed; especially when weather events cause a disruption to normal operations.
After traffic was backed up extensively for weather at MDW when the weather broke the traffic became intense and the all Tower communications were being handled by a single harried Controller who; despite best efforts; could not handle all the tasks affectively and efficiently.