Air Traffic Controllers departing in droves (but not on time? oh snap!)
According to the Wall Street Journal today, we’re now flying the friendly skies with the smallest number of fully certified air traffic controllers in years (…so we also use not certified air traffic controllers? apparently so).
The shortage is largely being attributed to the mass-retirement of air traffic controllers who were hired after the strike in 1981, and is also cited as a possible cause for delayed flights:
The FAA acknowledges that shortages in the control tower can cause delays, but that it happens infrequently. To stabilize the situation, the agency is hiring hundreds of trainees and offering bonuses of as much as $24,000 to retain wavering controllers. But the pace of departures is leaving fewer experienced eyes to watch over the skies.
The FAA, however, may actually be understating the issue:
Yet entry logs on FAA operations provided by the controllers’ union show the impact of short-staffed facilities on arrival times.
A Dec. 27 entry reads, “JFK GDP IN EFFECT DUE TO STAFFING,” indicating a ground-delay program was initiated because of a controller shortage. A Jan. 2 entry showing increased separation distances required between planes in Southern California bore this explanation: “OTHER: STAFFING.”
An interesting read, and if you’re flight is delayed for no apparent reason whatsoever, you might now have a good guess as to why.
photo ganked from severed dreams’ photostream on FlickR.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Nothing has changed since 1981. I was fired by reagan as part of the PATCO strike and as a pilot who still uses the air traffic system I can see that they have the same concerning issues that we had prior to the strike. Short staffing, poor training program for new hires, poor management, a great deal of overtime, and perhaps the most important factor to the declining mental and physical health to an air traffic controller, the rotating work schedule! Looking back, I loved the occupaation of an air traffic controller but being fired from that occupation was probably the best thing that ever happened to my professional career. I guess now’s the time to say ” I told you so”.
Don Rutherford PATCO class of 81
Don - thanks for sharing!
Most of us average Joe’s don’t really have a clue about the goings on of Air Traffic Controllers, or what that life is like.
Interesting to hear that things are pretty much always in crisis mode though. Wonder why it’s newsworthy today?
The FAA can’t hire enough controllers. I would like to be one. I’m a former Navy pilot. However, at 44 years of age, the FAA says I’m too old! Amazing.
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