(
The Hill
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has
made aggressive moves
for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
to resolve
the country’s crucial shortage of air traffic controllers, but
outdated equipment
has long compounded problems with ensuring air travel safety.
Flight
disruptions
at Newark Liberty International Airport this week have illustrated the link between failures of outdated technology and a shortage of available air traffic controllers.
“Staffing levels for controllers and advancements in infrastructure are closely intertwined,” stated National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Nick Daniels.
warned lawmakers
During a congressional hearing in March, it was stated, “The FAA requires a well-staffed team of thoroughly certified controllers to effectively develop, test, implement, and conduct training for the new technology and modernization initiatives within the scheduled timeframe and financial constraints.”
Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Representative Sam Graves (R-MO)
released a budget proposal
Last week, it included $15 billion for updating air traffic control (ATC) systems.
“Our country’s air traffic control system is antiquated and needs to be updated for the betterment and safety of everyone who uses the National Airspace System,” Graves stated during the discussion.
March hearing
where Daniels also addressed the issue. “While this issue has been thrust back into the spotlight following a
string of tragic accidents
, this is not a new debate.”
What’s happening?
The air traffic controller staffing shortage has drawn intense interest after a series of crashes and near misses at airports, including the
deadly midair collision
close to Reagan Washington National Airport in late January.
Duffy
announced in February
that he would “supercharge” controller staffing, noting the shortages he saw just weeks after the
Senate confirmed him
for the highest position in transportation.
However, it might take several months to bring new controllers up to speed and to educate the current workforce on utilizing updated protocols and technologies across various intricate systems such as navigation, meteorology, surveillance, and communication.
“Air traffic controllers, with their unique skill and precision, are the backbone of the (National Air System) and require rigorous training, a mastery of complex systems, and the ability to perform under immense pressure,” Daniels told legislators earlier this year.
These committed experts persistently operate understaffed, frequently working six days a week for up to ten hours each day over extended periods of years,” he mentioned back then. “They utilize obsolete machinery within dilapidated structures that in numerous instances date back over sixty years and desperately require renovation or replacement.
Outdated technology also has compounded the stress on the smaller workforce.
This week, delays and cancellations disrupted operations at Newark Airport—a key transportation center close to New York City—after almost one-fifth of the facility’s air traffic controllers went on leave. This occurred as a result of a critical blackout and loss of communications with aircraft approaching the airport on April 28.
The FAA admitted in a statement on Monday that frequent equipment and telecommunication disruptions can cause significant stress for air traffic controllers, adding that airport staff have been taking leave to recuperate from the strain caused by numerous recent service interruptions.
How did it get like this?
The Government Accountability Office (GAO)
reported this year
Over 75 percent of the FAA’s 138 air traffic control (ATC) systems were considered “unsustainable” or “potentially unsustainable” according to a review initiated due to technical problems that caused a nationwide U.S. airspace closure in 2023.
The independent watchdog noted that FAA’s advancements have been sluggish, with the process of setting up financial plans, timelines, and performance metrics for projects chosen by GAO for evaluation stretching over several years. As of May 2024, the projected finish lines for these carefully monitored investment initiatives were still roughly 6 to 10 years down the road. Furthermore, four out of these critical systems lacked corresponding funding allocations altogether.
Daniels also told lawmakers that the FAA in the past two decades has not requested funding the agency “truly needs to adequately address its technological and physical infrastructure needs.”
The
FAA’s $3 billion annual request
for facilities and equipment, the NATCA president said, has forced the agency into a “fix-on-fail” model that prioritizes mandatory costs with “little to no money” left for modernization programs.
Failure to upkeep and substitute essential safety gear past its intended lifespan adds avoidable risks to the system,” emphasized the union leader. “Additionally, these financial constraints have hindered the FAA’s ability to develop and introduce advanced technologies aimed at enhancing safety.
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