The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) president addressed concerns about air traffic controller staffing shortages, highlighting a broad need for funding, during a Saturday appearance on CNN.
“I'm here to tell you there are not enough air traffic controllers, and we absolutely have to continue addressing it. We do thank Secretary Duffy, he did lift the hiring freeze on air traffic controllers now, but there's only 10,800 certified controllers in the entire country right now,” NATCA Nick Daniels said on air.
He noted that the training timeline can cause a delay in the hiring process.
“We are supposed to be at 14,335. It's a rigorous training process. So it's not like today we could go out and hire the 3,600,” he stated.
“It takes two to three years to get a controller from being qualified conditionally just to enter the job, and there are multiple points where they can fail out of being an air traffic controller. Everything from Academy to simulation training locally, and then eventually talking to aircraft on their own,” Daniels continued.
Daniels argued that more funding is needed to uphold the safety standards and staffing requirements for professionals in the air traffic control industry.
“It was passed, an FAA reauthorization of maximum hiring of air traffic controllers for five years, but we need to keep the focus on it, make sure it is funded appropriately, and then that goes into the modernization,” he said.
“We also want to work with President Trump on the recruitment of the best and brightest.”
The NATCA president concluded by emphasizing the long hours that can add to the stressors of air traffic controllers following this week’s deadly plane crash near Reagan National Airport.
“As I stated, we have to talk about the stresses of this job. We're on 60 work weeks currently to make up many of these losses of air traffic controllers that are out there 60 hours in that work week, which introduces stress and fatigue,” he stated.
“We want to work on the pay benefits and the stresses that go along with this job, with this administration.”
The fatal collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter resulted in the deaths of 67 people. An investigation is being carried out to determine what caused the air disaster, one of the worst in past decades.
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