Staffing

Staffing

Associated Press: Air Traffic Controllers Warn on Staffing

DATELINE: ANCHORAGE, Alaska

A shortage of Alaska air traffic controllers threatens to jam up aviation in the state, spokesmen for the controllers union said Tuesday.

Rick Thompson, regional vice president for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the Federal Aviation Administration has not taken adequate steps to prepare for an expected wave of retirements by controllers who replaced 12,000 striking workers fired by former President Reagan in 1981.

Nearly half of the country's air traffic controllers - 7,100 out of 15,136 - would be eligible to retire in the next nine years. That's more than three times the number who resigned in the past eight years.

Safety will not be compromised if Alaska towers are not fully staffed, Thompson said. However, he said, flying hours could be curtailed if there are not enough controllers, resulting in delays for passengers and cargo.

"It's going to be safe," Thompson said. "If that means delays, you're going to have delays."

Thompson and other union representatives support an upcoming vote in the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee authorizing funding for the FAA and other transportation agencies. He said a bipartisan group of senators has written to the chairman requesting $14 million for the FAA to begin hiring controllers.

Mike Fergus, FAA Northwest Mountain Region spokesman, said the agency and the union agree there's a problem, but not on its severity.

"If they choose to say a crisis, that's up to them," he said.

Historically, of the controllers eligible to retire after 20 years, 25 percent do so in their first year of eligibility, Fergus said. Another 25 percent do it in the next five to six years, and the rest do so sporadically. If the pattern remains, there would not be a mass exodus in 2007.

"We should not expect to see a large volume of retirement in the first year," he said.

FAA officials are considering raising air traffic controllers' mandatory retirement age from 56. Thompson said that's a stopgap.

"Prolonging the inevitable is simply not a solution," he said.

It takes three to five years to fully train replacements, Thompson said, and some wash out.

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said in June that the agency would have a plan to deal with the expected retirements by December. A study of staffing needs and what it will take to fill them is on track to deal with the issue by 2007, Fergus said.

Union officials said solutions already are too late. Failure to fill positions will mean delays or rerouting of flights when there are not controllers to handle traffic, Thompson said.

"It's going to cost the airlines millions of dollars," Thompson said. "It's going to affect every airline that flies in here."

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS (NOTE: Paper's story blended the AP story along with some of its own reporting into one article): Air traffic controllers warn of shortages

SAFETY FIRST: Wave of expected retirements could cause flight delays.

(Published: August 11, 2004)

A shortage of Alaska air traffic controllers threatens to jam up traffic in the nation's most heavily flown state, spokesmen for the controllers union said Tuesday.

"It's going to be safe," Thompson said. "If that means delays, you're going to have delays."

Air carriers transport the equivalent of four times the state's population each year in Alaska, FAA Alaska Region administrator Patrick Poe said in June.

Nearly half of the country's air traffic controllers -- 7,100 of 15,136 -- would be eligible to retire in the next nine years. That's more than three times the number who resigned in the past eight years.

Mike Fergus, FAA Northwest Mountain Region spokesman, said the agency and the union agree there's a problem, but not on its severity.

"If they choose to say a crisis, that's up to them," he said.

"We should not expect to see a large volume of retirement in the first year," he said.

FAA officials are considering raising air traffic controllers' mandatory retirement age from 56. Thompson said that's a stopgap.

"Prolonging the inevitable is simply not a solution," he said.

It takes three to five years to fully train replacements, Thompson said, and some wash out.

The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport terminal radar approach control center, which lines up landings and takeoffs, has 32 authorized controller positions but only 28 filled, including two devoted to staff positions and one a trainee who cannot work all positions alone, controller George Lloyd said. Five of the 28 are eligible to retire this year and 12 can retire in the next three years, Lloyd said.

Anchorage's air route traffic control center, which contacts all aircraft flying into and out of Alaska, is authorized for 117 controllers. The facility has 112 in place, counting six trainees. Within three years, 27 percent will be eligible to retire.

"That's close to 30 people to replace," said controller Tony Klancher.

At Fairbanks International Airport, 23 controllers are authorized and all are in place, though six are trainees. Four will be eligible for retirement in the next three years, controller Steve Hansen said, and others are being transferred or promoted.

"The FAA has done nothing to prepare for this upcoming staffing process," he said.

FAA administrator Marion Blakey said in June that the agency would have a plan to deal with the expected retirements by December. A study of staffing needs and what it will take to fill them is on track to deal with the issue by 2007, Fergus said.

Union officials said solutions already are too late. Failure to fill positions will mean delays or rerouting of flights when there are not enough controllers to handle traffic, Thompson said.

"It's going to cost the airlines millions of dollars," Thompson said. "It's going to affect every airline that flies in here."

KTUU-TV Ch. 2 (NBC) ANCHORAGE: Flight controllers warn of shortage (includes picture of NATCA RVP Rick Thompson from Tuesday press conference)

Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - by Jeffrey Hope

Anchorage, Alaska - Those who have flown much over the years probably know what it's like to be delayed because of weather or mechanical problems. But if air traffic controllers are right, travelers could see a wave of future delays because there aren't enough people to manage the country's crowded airways.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a busy place, as 300,000 flights a year come and go. It's not uncommon for weather or delays at other airports to cause problems for Anchorage passengers.

But Tuesday morning, members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association spoke about another problem on the horizon. They say their numbers will soon be falling, as more and more air traffic controllers reach retirement age.

"Why should you care? Because, as I said earlier, it takes three to five years to hire and train a controller, and not everyone can make the cut," said Rick Thompson of the NATCA. "And that's the way it should be. You don't want someone who's not able to meet the demands of this job landing your plane, just like you don't want someone who failed flight school flying your plane."

Union members are urging the U.S. Senate to appropriate $14 million to help train new controllers. Without that money, they say flights could be delayed, as air traffic becomes too congested.

"When staffing gets short, the flying public and the aviation industry stand to lose millions of dollars through delays and rerouting of air traffic around areas where staffing is not available," said Tony Klancher.

"It is an issue, it's serious, but it is being addressed in due time, in a comfortable time frame," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus, speaking from Renton, Wash.

Officials with the FAA agree the issue needs to be resolved, and say they're working on it. Right now the agency is preparing a report looking into different ways to maximize efficiency. "Whatever is necessary to make it safe, we will do that," Fergus said.

Both sides agree something needs to be done, but disagree on the urgency of the situation. The FAA's report is due out in December, while controllers say it is just one more delay.

One proposal could help. The FAA wants the mandatory retirement age of controllers raised to 56 years old. Controllers call that a band-aid solution for an issue that needs major surgery.