WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is calling for a congressional hearing about the chronic understaffing of air traffic control facilities.
New data shows that national staffing totals have fallen nearly 10% percent since 2011, according to NATCA officials.
“I want to be clear: The safety of the air traffic control system is not at risk,” said NATCA President Paul Rinaldi. “But maintaining safety is coming at the cost of efficiency and modernization. We have far too few controllers in our towers and radars rooms. If left unaddressed, the situation could result in delays similar to those the country experienced in April 2013, when air traffic controllers were furloughed due to the mandatory budget cuts.
“Bureaucratic inertia is slowing the hiring process, and at the worst possible time,” he continued. “The number of fully certified air traffic controllers is at the lowest level in 27 years.”
Official FAA data shows the agency will miss its air traffic controller hiring goal for fiscal year 2015. This will be the fifth consecutive fiscal year in which the FAA has not hired enough air traffic controllers to keep up with the pace of workforce attrition, NATCA officials note.
As of Aug. 22, 2015, the FAA had only hired 1,178 of a planned 1,772 air traffic controllers, putting the agency 34% behind its goal.
Of the 10,859 certified controllers, 30% are eligible to retire at any time. There are only 1,844 controllers currently in training to replace them.
Training controllers takes two to four years, depending on the facility at which the new hires are placed. Once placed at a facility, an average 25% of trainees do not complete the training and certify.
At inadequately staffed facilities, the FAA requires controllers to work six-day weeks through the use of overtime.
Some of the facilities that serve the busiest and most complex airspaces are understaffed. These include Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities (TRACONs) in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and New York. At these five facilities, the number of fully certified controllers is below the level deemed adequate by FAA standards, and controllers are forced to work six-day weeks.
At Atlanta TRACON, the number of fully certified controllers has dropped to 74 — 28 short of the needed 102. At Chicago TRACON, there are 70 fully certified controllers instead of the 100 needed, and 39% are eligible to retire at any time. At Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON, positions normally worked by two or three controllers are routinely combined into one position staffed by a single controller doing the work of three. Often, this person is a trainee newly certified on that single position. At Houston TRACON, there are 73 fully certified controllers instead of the 93 needed. At New York TRACON, the number of fully certified controllers has dropped to a 25-year low of 147.
“Air traffic controllers are incredibly resilient, but we see that they are in dire straits and we must speak up,” said NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert. “Our workforce is suffering. If the health of the controller workforce declines, the health of the National Airspace System declines. We are asking Congress to examine the issue so we can find ways to set this country’s aviation system up for success. If nothing changes, there simply won’t be enough air traffic controllers to maintain the current level of services, much less implement long overdue modernization efforts.”
By the Numbers: Air Traffic Controller Staffing Crisis at Major Hubs
This situation is really government run amok. Period, there is no other way to put it. The so-called whiz kids and graduates from fancy schools that strive to show how much money can be saved have gone off the deep end on this one. Government is suppose to be “For the People and By the People”. Not how money can be saved by doing this or that. I’m saying don’t be prudent but it seems a lot of wasted time, effort and study comes down to money. The subject gets studied to death. Not just doing the job. Do the job. It’s not rocket science just common sense.
If the government has a job like the FAA they are embolden to perform that job and do the job correctly. Not try to sway the numbers so they look good on some spread sheet. If the job calls out for 50 people or however many then hire those people. Don’t hold back the hiring because you can save money by hiring less while making it up with over-time. People will get burned out and for what ? The all mighty dollar. Baloney, Hog-wash.
When someone takes a government job it is not to get rich but to perform a job. The people who work for the government “Are Public Servants”. Yes all of you, including all the appointees’. If you don’t like it then don’t accept the job or leave. Do better in private industry.
If the administrator has no openings then what are we paying him for. It’s all wrong. Hire from within. ATC is more important than someone filling out reports about NextGen or who is going to promoted because they came up with a new name for safety program. Hire internally. They have already passed the background checks.
ATC should be at the top of the food chain in hiring priorities. What wasteful managers/directors or management people came up with the idea to eliminate or reduce colleges from preparing students to become controllers. Put those people in an ATC job and make them work the long irregular hours in a tower cab, radar scope, etc. There is just way to much management personnel. Get rid of them.
The whole thing is set up for failure so the administrator can go back to congress and cry for more money. Why, just plain ego. Just to say ” I manage X amount of billions of dollars.
The first thing I would do is get a new administrator and one who has a pilots certificate and knows how to fly. Second, eliminate 95 percent of all the upper echelon positions and freeze the next layer of management. If those personnel managers think they are so valuable then get a private industry job and make more money there. Third, Post Clear cut responses to normal everyday problems associated with the job including disciplinary issues.
These are some ways ATC problems can be avoided now and in the future.
Amen, Ray.
And, don’t forget passing over people who have paid to attend prep schools for these technical jobs in order to hire minorities who couldn’t tell a jet route from a VOR.
The FAA has become a paralyzed Agency run amok. Time for a new Administrator.
Does anyone think this is a hiring problem?
The money is going to foreign aid and food stamps.
Our government is out of control to fix our country.
Eveything that make our country great is under attack.
Where is congress?
A little perspective:
Federal spending on foreign aid: $33 billion
Federal spending on food stamps: $74 billion
U.S. defense budget: $598 billion
Cost of war in Iraq: $2 trillion, or $2,000 billion
Congress? You’ve got to be kidding. Congress is part of the problem not the solution as is government in general. Privatize ATC!