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DALLAS — This week, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) expressed its gratitude to the 138 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who signed a letter to Congressional leadership. The letter called for the inclusion of crucial measures to tackle air traffic control staffing shortages in the final Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation.
The NATCA is a labor union and aviation safety organization in the United States that represents nearly 20,000 highly skilled air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation safety-related professionals.
The provisions supported by the bipartisan signatories aim to ensure maximum recruitment of air traffic controllers for the next five years. They also require the FAA to base its Controller Workforce Plan (CWP) on the staffing targets set by the Collaborative Resource Workgroup (CRWG).
The CRWG is a joint workgroup consisting of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization and NATCA. The MITRE Corporation has independently verified and validated their work.
Comments from NATCA President
NATCA President Rich Santa expressed his gratitude to all the members of the House of Representatives who wrote to lead negotiators in both the House and Senate. He commended Representatives Yakym, Titus, Brownley, Hoyle, and Posey for their leadership and unwavering support in addressing the controller staffing shortage. This shortage has frequently resulted in mandatory overtime for thousands of controllers and increased stress and fatigue among them.
Santa emphasized the importance of including these provisions to ensure the swift recruitment of new trainees into the FAA. He stated that, while there is a path to solving the staffing crisis, it was crucial to take the right initial steps for long-term success.
Over the past decade, there has been a decrease of approximately 1,000 Certified Professional Controllers. The shortage in controller staffing has led the FAA to implement mandatory overtime to cover chronically understaffed facilities. More than 40 percent of air traffic controllers regularly work six-day workweeks.
Santa highlighted the need for a new approach, as the existing finance-based, flawed controller staffing model has resulted in missed hiring goals and staffing projections for over a decade. A fresh perspective is desperately required to address this issue effectively.
Featured image: Pope Field Air Traffic Control Tower. Pope Field Air Traffic Control Tower. Photo: USAF Photo, TSgt. P. R. Miller, Public Domain
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