Commercial Fixed Wing
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors; Procedure
We were at a slow traffic time late in the evening shift. The Supervisor left the Tower Cab saying 'watch the phones for me.' He left himself on position on the computer and went down and took a 20 minute break. The departure push began and there was no supervisor or CIC in the work area. I pointed out that according to the SOP; we are not supposed to line up and wait on the Local Positions if the CIC is combined with any other position. Of course; we were confused because the CIC wasn't really combined; he was just not in the room. The controllers working the departures decided to continue to line up and wait as if the CIC was staffed. About 10 minutes into the push; the Supervisor came up and said 'I guess they came out early tonight' and resumed his operation. I have seen several times where the Supervisor has left the cab without assigning a CIC. This is dangerous because there are several new controllers at our facility and no one is there to back them up in unusual or busy situations. Most of the time; the Supervisor just runs to the bathroom or break room and is back within ten minutes. This time we were in a busy situation and the Supervisor was downstairs for over 20 minutes. I believe this is a safety issue and one that management has long ignored. They do not like to assign CPC's the CIC position. It leaves the controllers on position to figure things out by themselves. I believe this could be a factor that leads to a major safety issue.
Tower Controller expressed concern regarding the Supervisor's failure to assign a CIC when leaving the Tower for a break; the reporter listing some complicating operational restraints adding to the uncertainty.