Union presses for hearing on air traffic controller staffing levels

The union that represents the nation’s air traffic controllers is pressing Congress to hold a hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) staffing levels. 

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said 30 percent of the FAA’s present 10,859 air traffic controllers are eligible to retire soon, but the union said the agency only has 1,844 in training to take their place. 

NATCA President Paul Rinaldi said the resulting shortfall could result in flight delays for airline passengers.  

“We have far too few controllers in our towers and radars rooms,” he said in a statement. 

{mosads}”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,” Rinaldi continued. “Bureaucratic inertia is slowing the hiring process, and at the worst possible time. The number of fully certified air traffic controllers is at the lowest level in 27 years.”

The FAA is in the middle of an uncertain funding situation with Congress having passed only a six-month extension of an appropriations bill for the agency that was set to expire last month. 

Rinaldi said there is no risk of airline passengers of the air traffic controller shortfall, but he said Congress should look into the agency’s pace of hiring replacements to minimizing inconvenience and flight delays. 

“I want to be clear: The safety of the air traffic control system is not at risk,” he said “But maintaining safety is coming at the cost of efficiency and modernization.” 

The FAA’s previous appropriations measure, which includes funding for air traffic controllers, was set to expire on Sept. 30, along with funding for most federal government functions. 

Congress passed an extension of the agency’s funding that lasts until March 31, 2016, which supporters have said will buy lawmakers time to pass a long-term appropriations bill for the FAA. 

The decision to punt on the FAA funding extension has been attributed to the fact Congress is still mired in debate about a separate long-term surface transportation funding bill.  

The FAA funding issue has flown under the radar for most of the year as lawmakers have focused on the highway funding measure, which is now set to expire Oct. 29. 

NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert said the air traffic controller staffing levels deserves more attention from Congress, however.  

“Air traffic controllers are incredibly resilient, but we see that they are in dire straits and we must speak up,” she said. 

“Our workforce is suffering. If the health of the controller workforce declines, the health of the National Airspace System declines,” Gilbert continued. “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.”

The FAA has before been at the center of budget battles in Washington. The agency’s last funding measure, in 2012, was passed following a string of more than 20 temporary extensions that resulted in a partial shutdown of the agency in 2011. 

The agency’s funding was also cut in the 2013 sequester, resulting in air traffic controller furloughs and flight delays, before Congress passed a quick fix to restore the spending.