Air Services Australia Air Traffic Control executive general manager Greg Hood has responsibility for the safe voyage of passengers on airlines to and from Australia.

Mr Hood on Thursday toured Hobart, Launceston and Devonport to reassure industry stakeholders of safety in the air, in response to a ‘‘worrying’’ report from a national media outlet.

The report highlighted 38 Tasmanian air surveillance failures since 2013, and said planes went missing for minutes at a time during transit.

‘‘Whenever we get a perception problem that things aren’t safe in the air, my view is I can combat any of that with a data-based approach to how safe we are,’’ he said. 

‘‘Since 2004, when we had no surveillance over Tasmania whatsoever, we’ve invested very heavily into providing leading systems for Tasmania. Now, of course, we watch aeroplanes onto the ground.’’

Launceston air traffic controllers operate under a Tasmanian Wide Area Multialteration system, or Tas-WAM, which detects planes below 9000 feet – when monitoring is handed over from Melbourne.

Although failures might have been registered, Mr Hood said a back-up procedure ensured planes did not go missing and, because of that, there had been no requirement to investigate the discrepancies further.

‘‘We think the way we manage traffic here is absolutely appropriate. The same with Hobart,’’ Mr Hood said. 

‘‘It really worries me when there’s any perception of the fact that there’s any safety issue, because there are none and I’m responsible for that.

‘‘We’re benchmarked in the top three of air traffic providers in the world.

‘‘I wanted to come down and make sure the people of Tasmania know we’re serious.’’

Labor Leader Bryan Green said he met Mr Hood and was satisfied systems were in place to ensure safe air travel in the state.