Commercial Fixed Wing
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 26
Situational Awareness; Other / Unknown; Communication Breakdown; Troubleshooting
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert
Company Policy; Procedure; Weather
A weather event caused some trans-con route structure need. As the weather developed and changed; ZMP Traffic Management Unit (TMU) asked for additional route structure and the current route structure to be changed. ZMP TMU contacted the ATCSCC (Traffic Management Command Center) to change or discontinue the MCW West playbook. The ATCSCC did not agree with ZMP TMU request. As time went on ZMP TMU would continue to ask for help with the volume on the MCW West play. ATCSCC continued to resist the request but they would evaluate and make some moves if necessary. ZMP TMU gave some options for alleviating the constraint area. ZMP TMU moved all MSP departures that would add to the problem. ZMP TMU moved all MSP arrivals to lower altitudes that would of added to the problem. ZMP TMU reached out to adjacent ARTCC to ask for help with multiple aircraft re-routes and Miles in Trail (MIT) restrictions. 5 TMCs and myself worked for hours and hours burning up valuable resources and time trying to get help from ATCSCC and surrounding ARTCC to alleviate the constraint and unsafe volume and complexity headed into ZMP29; ZMP30 and ZMP17.The forecast product Terrain Clearance Floor (TCF) was fairly reliable and updating in a timely useful function. The TCF showed the 'hole' in between two weather systems was going to be around the MCW/FOD area hence we needed to get rid of the play taking the weather into a 'hole' that was also going to have numerous other flights deviating through the area. I spoke with ZKC and they had a 'Hole' in their airspace that they could take aircraft. ZMP TMU asked the ATCSCC to reroute the MCW West play over ICT LBL points west per ZKC direction. ATCSCC was slow and resistant to help. Some aircraft in ZOB did get moved but almost all the effort/work and strategy came from ZMP reaching out to make moves.Needless to say ZMP17 got pummeled by aircraft. As a TMU group we used every idea we could come up with to help the sectors from getting uncontrollable. In my opinion SAFETY was not only marginalized in these sectors SAFETY was jeopardized.ATCSCC needs to trust the ARTCC asking for help. ATCSCC needs to start from the paradigm of SUPPORT THE CENTERS! ATCSCC needs to hire more capable people that understand the dynamics and issues with large system weather impacts. ZAU and ZOB need to be forced to comply with MIT restrictions that ZMP asks for. JFK tower and ZNY need to be able to provide ad-hoc routes to provide better routing around enroute weather. ATCSCC continues to defend the east coast and their inability to provide MIT and ad-hoc routing. That has to change.Our entire NAS is only as good as our weakest link. Something very bad is going to happen during a weather 'hole' event and then maybe this weak posture of 'making it work' will be exposed. I have proposed a new trans-con play and submitted the request to ATCSCC and ZAU. It's been over 2 months and ZAU refuses to approve play or offer other suggestions. This play would be used to take some traffic off the MCW West play and route aircraft into ZMP30.
ZMP Center Traffic Management Unit Supervisor reported the Traffic Management Command Center (ATCSS) would not enact their requests for aircraft reroutes around known weather areas. The Supervisor stated a Center sector was overloaded and unsafe due to the workload created by the weather deviations.