NATCA President Addresses Key Aviation Challenges Including ATC Staffing Shortfalls at Aero Club of Washington

Kim Stevens District of Columbia

NATCA President Addresses Key Aviation Challenges Including ATC Staffing Shortfalls at Aero Club of Washington

Rich Santa

National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Rich Santa addressed the Aero Club of Washington recently about ongoing challenges facing the National Airspace System (NAS), including air traffic controller staffing. He described how:

  • Air traffic controllers and aviation safety professionals represented by NATCA have showcased their dedication and professionalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Recent increases in commercial airline delays and cancellations are due to a variety of factors—including convective weather, more commercial space launches, high demand for travel, airline operational challenges, and, in some cases, air traffic control staffing.
  • In 2011, there were over 11,750 fully certified controllers (CPCs) and additional trainees yielding over 15,000 total controllers on-board.
  • By the beginning of 2022 there were more than 1,000 fewer CPCs, and 1,500 fewer total controllers on-board, a number that has declined for at least the past 11 years. 
  • Unfortunately, FAA staffing is not keeping up with attrition.
  • NATCA supports the safe introduction of new technology and new entrants into the NAS, but there should be 1,000 more controllers, not 1,000 fewer, than we had a decade ago.

In his speech, to help illustrate how staffing challenges affect the system, Santa spoke about staffing at Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center, which handles airspace covering parts of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina as well as portions of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Santa stated:

“Jacksonville Center’s situation epitomizes the staffing issue across the country. For Jacksonville, the Air Traffic Organization (ATO)-NATCA jointly agreed to an operational staffing target of 275 Certified Professional Controllers (CPCs). However, as of July 20, there were only 205 controllers certified at Jacksonville Center. That’s 70 fewer CPCs than the staffing target number. In the FAA’s current Controller Workforce Plan, FAA finance reports a staffing range of 235-287 controllers and reported 241 currently on-board, including trainees, making it look like it’s right in its staffing range. As of last week, there are 50 trainees at Jacksonville Center who may or may not ever become fully certified. FAA finance would say with 205 CPCs and 50 trainees that it’s fully staffed. But we know that Jacksonville Center is 70 CPCs short. Recent delays in Jacksonville Center’s airspace have been caused by a variety of issues, including unprecedented convective weather, a significant increase in commercial space launches and reentries affecting air traffic flow, and airline operational challenges. But, FAA staffing challenges are also a piece of this complex puzzle.”

Santa recommended how to address these staffing challenges.

  • NATCA will be calling on Congress to address this staffing and reporting issue in upcoming FAA reauthorization legislation.
  • FAA’s finance office must move away from reporting the staffing ranges it has developed and instead work with NATCA and the ATO to report transparent operational staffing targets to Congress and the public.
  • The annual Controller Workforce Plan submitted each year by FAA must provide Congress with a complete, accurate, and transparent picture of controller staffing that reflects operational need.

Read the speech as prepared here.