A320
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown; Workload
ATC Issue All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure; Weather; Human Factors
I was working the RADAR position at the Parso Sector when I was advised of a no notice hold for BOS arrivals from my Supervisor. I advised the aircraft; an A320; that there would be holding over SCUPP and the pilot proceeded to SCUPP only to advise he was unable to hold over SCUPP. I then gave him holding instructions over OOSHN; one fix further on the OOSHN2 arrival into BOS. This hold overlapped approach airspace and required a lot of coordination because the Approach Controller was maneuvering aircraft through this area of airspace as well. I advised the Supervisor that we should not take any extra aircraft landing BOS through our sector because of the extensive weather situation. My D-Side then coordinated with the Nantucket Sector to send a BOS arrival to the SUFFI fix as on RADAR it looked to be an opening in the weather. After issuing holding instructions at SUFFI for that aircraft; three more BOS arrivals were flashed through the Augusta Sector from the Cambridge Sector to me. They were all deviating North of the weather that covered the entire Eastern half of my sector. The aircraft were a B737-900; a second A320; and a third A320. Upon check in the pilot of the B737-900 asked why they were rerouted through my sector where weather covered most of their descent into BOS when the previous route they were on had no weather. Following this; Boston Approach called to say the A310 was RADAR contact and to vector it in on a westbound heading. I tried to issue multiple vectors but the A310 pilot advised they were unable any vectors. I finally had to issue a blanket deviate as necessary; when able direct to BOS. The aircraft was stuck in heavy rain and moderate turbulence with nowhere to turn. Fortunately it eventually broke through the weather and was able to continue on to BOS. At this point I decided to shut off the high sector who was flashing another BOS lander. I vectored the three aircraft back to the West side of the storm that had been moving east for several hours and several hundred miles. My D-Side then APREQed routing into BOS from the Northwest. It is standard procedure at ZBW for BOS arrivals to be sent around the East side of a storm that is moving East; only to have to hold in that storm the entire time it moves through. When I spoke with my Supervisor after; he informed me that the aircraft were routed through my sector because the sector that was supposed to work them; despite having no weather; was saturated and holding BOS arrivals. These BOS arrivals should not be sent around and in front a storm just to hold at slow speeds and low altitude while the storm then rolls through the exact airspace in which they are holding. They should be held in areas prior to the weather so that they don't have to be put in the extremely dangerous situation. This is further proven by the fact that the pilots of these aircraft are then questioning why they were rerouted into the weather when their previous route kept them away from it.
ZBW Controller described an unsafe condition when aircraft were re-routed through his/her sector with extreme weather conditions to avoid another sector that was holding aircraft for the same destination; the reporter suggested holding should have been accomplished prior to the weather areas.