Title: Air Traffic Controllers Will Face A Staffing Crisis Every 25 Years
Headings: Why Air Traffic Controllers Face A Staffing Crisis Every 25 Years
Why Air Traffic Controllers Face A Staffing Crisis Every 25 Years
Vivian Giang

Content: Currently, the FAA projects a total loss of 14,657 controllers over the next ten years and will need to fill 11,000 positions by the fiscal year 2019. Since 2006, the FAA has been hiring approximately 800 air traffic controllers every year to fill those soon-to-be vacant positions. "When [the strike] happened, everyone thought it would take six months to recover," McGuirk said. " In fact it took 11 years to stabilize the system.” After the strike, controllers who still had jobs worked stringent schedules of mandatory six-day shifts and very often 10-hour days, said McGuirk, who spent nearly 18 years as an air traffic controller and another nearly 18 years in air traffic management. “I was almost envious of the ones who got fired," he said. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has repeatedly warned the FAA of demanding work schedules and exhausted air traffic controllers have been the suspects of plane crash investigations conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. At the beginning of 2011, the FAA faced significant public distrust as several napping incidents involving air traffic controllers during their shifts became known through media attention and the NATCA recommended that the FAA reconsider staffing levels. In some countries, such as Germany, France and Japan, air traffic controllers are encouraged to take naps to combat fatigue. In other safety sensitive positions – firefighters, doctors and ambulance personnel – beds and resting areas are provided during shift breaks in order to fight exhaustion.