The nation’s 13 busiest airports and air traffic centers, including those in Chicago, don’t have enough air traffic controllers. And many of the most experienced are ready to retire. That’s according to recent testimony before Congress by a government inspector.
Matthew Hampton, a Department of Transportation assistant inspector general, told a House transportation aviation subcommittee recently that that the number of fully qualified controllers at the country’s 13 busiest airports and regional air traffic centers is “below minimum staffing requirements.” Hampton said the lack of experienced controllers demanded “urgent attention.” He cited problems with the way the Federal Aviation Administration estimates staff requirements, scheduling problems and poor communication between FAA headquarters and its field offices.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the union representing the controllers also says many facilities are understaffed. It cited difficulties in getting experienced controllers to where they’re needed, plus the months, or even years, it can take them to adjust to the heaver workload at the busiest airports. The union says managers reluctant to let an experienced controller go and differences in the cost of living impede moving controllers to busier locations where they’re needed. On top of that, the union says, a third of the FAA’s controllers are eligible to retire, and the failure rate for new controllers is high.
In response, the FAA issued the following statement:
“The FAA shares NATCA's frustration with air traffic controller staffing levels. The past government shutdown and budget cuts closed the FAA’s controller training academy for nine months, delaying initial training for several classes of new air traffic controllers. As a result, the FAA has been working hard to hire at an increased rate to meet its air traffic controller staffing targets. The FAA has conducted several rounds of air traffic controller hiring over the past two years in an effort to continue to feed enough controllers into the training pipeline to meet the agency’s expected staffing needs. The agency is planning additional job announcements in the future to recruit new controllers to meet ongoing staffing needs.”