Commercial Fixed Wing
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 3.5
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Situational Awareness; Workload
ATC Issue All Types
Human Factors
I plugged in to Sector 52 or Metta. I noticed that KNEMO or [Sector] 51 was red for multiple blocks. I asked how long [Sector] 51 had been red and I was told that it had been solid blocks of red for at least an hour. Throughout my 8 hour shift; Sector 51 was either red or yellow the entire time. I asked if anything was being done by flow to mitigate the amount of traffic through [Sector] 51. I was told that everything was being done that could be done. However; in my 90 minutes or so at Sector 52; I was never overwhelmed with traffic and could have accepted some aircraft to alleviate Sector 51. The adjacent sectors of 47/48 were also slow and could have accepted some traffic from [Sector] 51. TMU [Traffic Management Unit] stated that they had backed up as many flow programs as they could to Washington Center but they knew 'Washington won't reroute aircraft that are already in the air.' I understand that rerouting aircraft in the air can be a pain; but how do you explain a sector being red for an entire day? At some point; the aircraft coming through the sector were on the ground and should have been issued a reroute. This was a very unsafe situation for Sector 51 and it is not the first time that something like this has happened. In the future; TMU must insure that aircraft are routed out of Sector 51's airspace. Whether they use playbooks; altitude tucks; or ask specific aircraft to be routed out of the airspace.
Jacksonville Center Controller reported that another sector was inundated with traffic that was not rerouted due to volume.