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National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)\nPresident Rich Santa addressed the Aero Club of Washington recently about\nongoing challenges facing the National Airspace System (NAS), including air\ntraffic controller staffing. He described how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Air traffic controllers and aviation safety\nprofessionals represented by NATCA have showcased their dedication and\nprofessionalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/li>
- Recent increases in commercial airline delays\nand cancellations are due to a variety of factors\u2014including convective weather,\nmore commercial space launches, high demand for travel, airline operational\nchallenges, and, in some cases, air traffic control staffing. <\/li>
- In 2011, there were over 11,750 fully certified\ncontrollers (CPCs) and additional trainees yielding over 15,000 total\ncontrollers on-board. <\/li>
- By the beginning of 2022 there were more than\n1,000 fewer CPCs, and 1,500 fewer total controllers on-board, a number that has\ndeclined for at least the past 11 years. \n<\/li>
- Unfortunately, FAA staffing is not keeping up\nwith attrition. <\/li>
- NATCA supports the safe introduction of new\ntechnology and new entrants into the NAS, but there should be 1,000 more\ncontrollers, not 1,000 fewer, than we had a decade ago.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
In his speech, to help illustrate how staffing challenges\naffect the system, Santa spoke about staffing at Jacksonville Air Route Traffic\nControl Center, which handles airspace covering parts of Florida, Georgia,\nAlabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina as well as portions of the Atlantic\nOcean and Gulf of Mexico. Santa stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJacksonville Center\u2019s situation epitomizes the staffing\nissue across the country. For Jacksonville, the Air Traffic Organization\n(ATO)-NATCA jointly agreed to an operational staffing target of 275 Certified\nProfessional Controllers (CPCs). However, as of July 20, there were only 205\ncontrollers certified at Jacksonville Center. That\u2019s 70 fewer CPCs than the\nstaffing target number. In the FAA\u2019s current Controller Workforce Plan, FAA\nfinance reports a staffing range of 235-287 controllers and reported 241\ncurrently on-board, including trainees, making it look like it\u2019s right in its\nstaffing range. As of last week, there are 50 trainees at Jacksonville Center\nwho may or may not ever become fully certified. FAA finance would say with 205\nCPCs and 50 trainees that it\u2019s fully staffed. But we know that Jacksonville\nCenter is 70 CPCs short. Recent delays in Jacksonville Center\u2019s airspace have\nbeen caused by a variety of issues, including unprecedented convective weather,\na significant increase in commercial space launches and reentries affecting air\ntraffic flow, and airline operational challenges. But, FAA staffing challenges\nare also a piece of this complex puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Santa recommended how to address these staffing challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- NATCA will be calling on Congress to address\nthis staffing and reporting issue in upcoming FAA reauthorization legislation.<\/li>
- FAA\u2019s finance office must move away from\nreporting the staffing ranges it has developed and instead work with NATCA and\nthe ATO to report transparent operational staffing targets to Congress and the\npublic.<\/li>
- The annual Controller Workforce Plan submitted\neach year by FAA must provide Congress with a complete, accurate, and\ntransparent picture of controller staffing that reflects operational need.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n