QUICK REFERENCE
Certified Professional Controller staffing is at its
lowest level in a quarter century. The FAA has missed
its hiring goals in each of the last seven years,
dropping staffing totals nearly 10 percent.
Stop-and-go funding made the staffing problem worse
because sequestration forced the FAA in 2013 to close the
Oklahoma City Academy for most of the year. The FAA must
now take a holistic, collaborative approach to resolving
these staffing shortage issues.
Our controllers should not have to shoulder the
burden of chronically understaffed facilities. Hiring,
training, and placement processes must meet the
needs of the mission.
NiW Today
n i w . n a t c a . n e t
ISSUE: STAFFING CRISIS
Our controllers are dedicated, highly-skilled professionals forced to shoulder the burden
of chronically understaffed facilities. No one wants interruptions to service, delays,
and decreased capacity, least of all our controllers who not only work traffic but also
participate in the NextGen initiatives. In order for controllers to continue providing the
type of service the flying public deserves, we must ensure hiring, training, and placement
processes meet the needs of the mission and are not subordinate to bureaucratic red
tape and arbitrary rules.
HOW THIS ISSUE AFFECTS
NATCA MEMBERS:
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