Less Than 10% of US Airport Towers Have Enough Air Traffic Controllers: Report

A new report exposes a severe shortage of air traffic controllers across the U.S., with less than 10% of airport terminal towers meeting recommended staffing in the wake of the American Airlines and Black Hawk helicopter collision that left 67 dead in Washington, D.C.

According to an analysis of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data, only about 2% of airport towers have enough fully trained controllers to meet 2024 staffing targets set by the Collaborative Resource Workgroup, a team that includes the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Factoring in controllers still in training, that number rises slightly to just 8%, as reported by CBS.

At the time of the collision, a single air traffic controller was overseeing helicopters and planes from the Reagan National Airport tower; a role that typically requires two workers, according to inside sources.

To complicate matters, none of the country's 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which oversee high-altitude flights, have enough trained controllers to meet staffing goals. Nationwide, the working group's target calls for approximately 14,600 controllers. The report found the U.S. air traffic system is operating at just 72% of that goal when counting only certified controllers, and 87% when including trainees. That leaves the industry short by an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 personnel.

The FAA's annual Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan attributes the shortage in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial impact on the aviation industry and the FAA," the report states. The agency cites reductions in hiring and on-the-job training as key factors in the backlog of certified controllers.

The FAA's internal staffing standards, which set lower targets than the working group's, show that 45% of airport towers meet the agency's own goals when considering only fully trained controllers. That number increases to 59% when including trainees.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels warned bridging the staffing gap will take a long time.

"If we hired 2,000 people today, in two, three years from now, we'd see only about 1,000 of them become a certified air traffic controller," he told CBS.