Traffic Controllers Declare Staffing Emergency at Four Airports

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/10/traffic-controllers-declare-staffing-emergency-at-four-airports/

by Mike Hall, Jan 10, 2008

The staffing crisis in the nation’s air traffic control system is so severe and the potential for a serious accident climbing so rapidly that the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) today declared a staffing emergency covering airspace surrounding Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Southern California, four areas of the country with some the busiest airspace in the world.



NATCA says the emergency declaration means that controllers do not have sufficient numbers of trained and experienced personnel on the ground to safely handle the volume of traffic in the air and at major airports.

Last year, 10 percent of controller workforce left the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the union says by Feb. 3, 500 controllers will have retired already this fiscal year, with 2,200 more controllers able to retire by year’s end.

Says NATCA President Pat Forrey:

An already dangerous situation is about to get worse. An additional 2,200 experienced controllers will be able to retire by the end of this year, thinning the already-depleted ranks of the workforce at a time when the skies have never been more congested. The GAO has already stated that the risk of a catastrophic accident on our runways around the nation is high. Without an adequate amount of rested, well-trained controllers in towers and radar facilities, the risk of an aviation accident now includes the airspace as well as the ground.

The controller exodus and resulting staffing shortfall is directly tied to FAA’s unilaterally imposed work rules. The agency imposed the rules in 2006, after it walked away from the bargaining table during negotiations with NATCA.

Along with its failure to negotiate a contract, the FAA repeatedly has cut staffing at control towers over the past few years and decreased the amount of time between work shifts, forcing controllers to work even when they have not had sufficient rest.

FULL story at link.

[Sherman A1]

1. The era of St. Ronnie

comes back to haunt us.