Airlines for America Urges Biden Administration to Take Action on Air Controller Shortages

Planes on runway at New York’s JFK airport.

The Biden Administration is being urged to address the nation’s air traffic controller shortage by an airline industry group representing the top U.S. airlines.

During a speech today at the Aero Club of Washington, Airlines for America President and CEO Nick Calio said it’s critical that systemic issues—such as the air traffic controller shortage and the lagging modernization of the Federal Aviation Administration’s physical and technological infrastructure—be addressed to ensure the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS.)

“Business as usual isn’t cutting it,” Calio said during his speech. “It is an urgent problem. It’s easy to ignore maybe on a day to day basis, but we have to come up with a plan to address it.”

“Change only occurs when the pain of the status quo is worse than the pain of changing,” added Calio. “Friends, we are at that point.”

Current State of the National Airspace System

The FAA is currently thousands short of its staffing goals and that’s a reality that has persisted for quite some time. The agency is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets.

There’s currently about 10,700 certified air traffic controllers, per Reuters. That figure represents a slight increase from 2022, when there were 10,578 controllers. But the number of controllers remained largely unchanged between 2021 and 2022. Furthermore, the total level of air traffic controllers in the U.S. is down 10 percent since 2012.

In the face of such staffing shortfalls, the FAA extended cuts in September to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports. The cuts will now remain in effect through through October 2024.

“The staffing shortage is having a material and direct impact on the aviation system,” Calio said. “Our carriers have had to voluntarily reduce flights in New York to accommodate challenges.”

What’s happening in New York is not unique either. It’s happening all across the nation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg has also voiced harsh criticism of the current situation, declaring air traffic staffing levels “unacceptable.”

Yet another challenge the nation’s airspace system faces is aging infrastructure.

“While the system has gotten more complex and cutting edge, the platform it operates on is falling behind,” Calio continued.

The FAA’s 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which largely control enroute air traffic, are located in buildings that are roughly 60 years old. There is no current plan or budget to replace any of these buildings.

Additionally, many of the air traffic control towers throughout the U.S., including Boston and Tampa, are over 50 years old and in desperate need of being replaced.

The Minneapolis Center, meanwhile, consistently floods, and the FAA has installed 22 pumps to help manage the water level.

During his speech, Calio suggested that a dashboard measuring government progress on aviation initiatives could be useful.

“Every level of government and every stakeholder must have a sense of urgency about

these problems,” said Calio. “How we handle these issues today will determine how the system operates in five, ten [and] fifteen years.”