Air traffic controllers from coast to coast are at their breaking point. For now they have been continuing to work without pay during the current government shutdown. The emergency declaration has caused major travel disruptions. For all these reasons, their critical role in maintaining the safety and efficiency of air travel cannot be overstated. Currently, only around 13,294 air traffic controllers actively work. They’re running operations in temperatures below zero even, with up to half their staff — 50% at some facilities — manning the line.
In response to the above NATCA release, NATCA President Paul Rinaldi stated, “However bad you think it is, it’s actually worse. The shutdown has added new burdens on an already scarce workforce. Controllers often work 10-hour days, six days a week. On the whole, they do it brilliantly under extreme pressures taking care of the most complex airspace in the planet. Most have started walking off the job or calling in sick, leading to fears of a mass exodus that would worsen delays with further staffing shortages.
In the past, air traffic controllers have shown their ability and willingness to make change happen in times of crisis like this. In 2019, a coordinated series of sick-outs by just ten air traffic controllers helped force the end of that year’s shutdown. Experts are warning that if this trend persists, there will be more sick-outs, putting flight operations across the country at risk.
The ramifications of this now emerging controller absence have become clear. And major airports including LaGuardia, Atlanta, and Philadelphia have suffered from temporary stoppage of travel. Large-scale slowdowns have been felt at all three of the FAA’s major hubs — Chicago, Dallas and Boston. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explained how just a third of their low baseline of drivers not reporting for duty would decimate their system.
“It’s a small fraction of people who don’t come to work that can create this massive disruption and that’s what you’re seeing rippling through our skies today.” – Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
The federal government’s decision to keep the shutdown continuing has produced all sorts of avoidable distractions for air traffic controllers. These dedicated professionals are the frontline defenders of patriotic passenger safety in our nation’s skies. Harley Shaiken, a professor of labor relations at UC Berkeley, pointed out the often unseen but essential quality of their work.
“This occupation is hidden from the public for most of the year, but it’s critical for safe air travel.” – Harley Shaiken
Delays and cancellations attributed to air traffic controller shortages have raised questions about the sustainability of operations during this prolonged shutdown. The FAA has been forced to delay flights into Burbank, California already this year because of staffing shortfalls. This unpaid controller shortage has drained the controller workforce and is taking a financial toll on controllers. Now, their morale and commitment to the job are beginning to suffer.
The NATCA has repeatedly warned about the mental and emotional impact that the shutdown is having on its members. At its best, operating in a crunch mode environment is all consuming and demanding. Compounded with the stress of financial uncertainty, even the best controllers are struggling to stay sharp.
“Many of these essential aviation professionals work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week to make sure each of these flights and their precious passengers and cargo arrives safely. A government shutdown adds unnecessary distraction to their work, adding strain on a workforce that is already stretched thin working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, operating the most complex airspace in the world.” – NATCA
As controllers are forced to live their primary vocation without fair compensation, the danger of sick-outs becomes all more likely. Transportation Secretary Duffy has repeatedly warned that continued absences would create an untenable operational crisis.
“Once that ticks up a bit and this spreads further, I think we could have some real problems.” – Rosenfeld
The air traffic controller’s future … That future is far from certain as air traffic controllers continue to fly through these turbulent times. Whatever the eventual result of the shutdown, it will almost certainly determine their fiscal health. It would affect the long-term safety of U.S. air travel as well in the near term.
