“If they don’t believe they’re fit for duty, they’re supposed to tell us that,” Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said. “You won’t be penalized for not reporting for work.”
She continued, the air traffic controller union approved the work schedule rules, and the FAA provides information about how to avoid fatigue. Ken Spirito, director of a regional airport in Peoria, Ill., said it is common for some late-night and early-morning shifts to be staffed with only one controller. Someone may call in sick or take a vacation, and the FAA usually decides to keep the airport open, he said. “The mandate that is issued by FAA is only as good as the staffing levels at that particular tower,” Spirito said.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said that at the time of the accident, there were only two other towers — in Duluth, Minn., and Fargo, N.D. — that were not following the policy to staff with two controllers.
But the underlying question is, are the shortcomings in staffing a result of the stretching of the workforce or is just a problem at a local level that needs to be addressed?In my opinion the air traffic control system is being stretched too thin. The short staffing at smaller regional airports is the first sign. Short staffing is a problem at most places and it can be partly a cause of the aging workforce that is coming up on retirement. The controller on duty in Kentucky has 17 years of experience with the FAA. So he is not close to the mandatory retirement age yet however, many of the controllers are coming up on the mandatory retirement standards. This could lead to even more short staffing issues. The FAA annouced the other day that it is going to be hiring nearly 12,000 new controllers to replace the ones that are set to retire in the next 10 years, however the numbers did not seem to include additional controllers.
We have had a huge increase in the number of planes, departures, arrivals, etc. in the last 25 years yet the ratio of air traffic controllers to planes has not gone down.
Some information taken from MSNBC.com
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