![]() ![]() The current FAA funding through reauthorization by Congress is set to expire Oct. Additionally, these cuts would hobble much-needed air traffic modernization work and stop the transfer to a new (notification) system,” Nolen said in the letter. “Thousands of FAA employees would be furloughed from their safety duties, and the replacement of the computer backbone that transfers data between air traffic facilities would be unacceptably delayed. ![]() But in a May 5 letter to Congress, FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen said proposed Congressional spending cuts to the agency’s budget “would wreak havoc on summer air travel.” People process through security at Denver International Airport on April 27, 2022. The federal Air Traffic Organization plans to hire 1,500 air controllers this year and another 1,800 next year. “It’s just something we have to live with until we get more new controllers that are qualified.” And because of that, a trainee that’s qualified in one or two positions, you’re kind of stuck there because there’s not enough other controllers to train you,” said Reale, who teaches prospective student pilots about the air traffic control system. “There’s a big gap between the ones that are fully qualified and those who can only work in certain positions. That left a large gap in hiring and training new air traffic controllers and it’s one that appears to be falling further behind.Īccording to Carmen Reale, a retired air traffic controller and now adjunct professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, it can take nine months to four years to get back on track because not only must new employees be trained, but trainers need to be trained. In the first year of the pandemic, the FAA said it shut down its training academy for four months and paused training elsewhere for eight months because of COVID-19 safety precautions. “COVID blew a hole in our training pipeline, which we’re still working to recover from although we’ve made great progress,” Buttigieg said Tuesday at a news conference. Scenes at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday, Jan. A woman looks at flight delays and cancellations. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said this week that the FAA is still trying to catch up after a long pause on hiring and training during the pandemic. While non-weather-related ground delays are less frequent, the air controller staffing situation could end up impacting summer travel. Normal operations resumed at 9 a.m., after about an hour. On Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration “briefly paused departures from certain airports to Denver International Airport” and cited “controller staffing” as the cause, according to an FAA statement. Air controller staffing shortages add to potential travel delays Close ![]()
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