Read the full s tory here.
List of all of our Archie League Medal of Safety Award winners
Awards banquet: March 22 at Communicating For Safety. Live webcast on natca.org
starts at 8 p.m. PDT.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK FROM OUTSIDE NATCA
JetBlue President and CEO Robin Hayes, on a panel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Aviation Summit 2017 last week:
" There are staffing iss ues. We are seeing ground delay programs in the Northeast
because of air traffic controller staffing. If you ta lk to air traffic controllers – and they do a
fantastic job – they will tell you we don ' t have enough controllers."
PRESS CLIP OF THE WEEK
USA T oday, "Ask Air Traffic Control"
We're excited to announce the return of the Ask ATC feature in USA Today! This series
began with former NATCA Safety and Technology Director Dale Wright a couple of
years ago and now current NATCA S&T Director Jim Ullmann i s contributing answers to
questions about ATC and the system. The first installment ran last week. Excerpt:
Question: What are the busiest times of year for air traffic controllers?
Answer: There are several times a year when air travel throughout the U nited States
National Airspace System (NAS) increases significantly. The long Thanksgiving
weekend is historically one of the busiest times to fly, as is the holiday season, from mid -
December into the new year. During the Thanksgiving travel period in 2016 (Nov. 18 to
Nov. 29), air traffic controllers guided more than 27 million passengers. During this
year's holiday travel season (Dec. 15 to Jan. 5), air traffic controllers ensured the safety
of over 45 million passengers.
Travelers may also notice more p eople than usual flying during times surrounding spring
break. Many parts of the U.S. have spring break at different times, so travelers should
keep this in mind when traveling during this time period. There ' s also typically an
increase of passengers escap ing cold weather in northern cities for warm weather
locales in late winter and early spring.
Read the full article here.
MEMBER FOCUS OF THE W EEK
Matt Sullivan (Potomac TRACON )
Sullivan (Potomac TRACON, PCT) is one of the five winners of this year's second
annual NATCA National Professionalism Awards. NATCA will recognize his great work
on March 21 at Communicating For Safety. He is the co - winn er for the Eastern Service
Area.
Sullivan has been a controller for over 30 years. He started his career in the Navy.
Currently he is a representative on the NATCA National Collaborative Workgroup where
he works to create a culture of collaboration in the Eastern Region facilities between the
