America’s ATC Crisis
Image Credit
Every day, 2.9 million passengers take to the skies on 45,000 flights to, from, or within the United States. Each one of these flights, no matter if it’s a short regional hop to Des Moines or an international ultra long haul to Singapore, is managed by multiple air traffic controllers. Without air traffic control, air travel would grind to a halt, which while it’s rare, has happened.
On April 28th, controllers at Philadelphia’s Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, guiding planes into Newark- Liberty International AIrport lost their radar for about 90 seconds, which occurred at almost the exact same time as frequency issues, where they were unable to communicate with aircraft. While this seems relatively insignificant, it’s a major deal. In congested airspace like New York’s, those 90 seconds could be fatal. Fortunately, the aircraft were not put into peril. It was a day with good visibility, and there’s a number of failsafes onboard planes
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy insisted Monday there was never any danger of planes colliding during the brief communications breakdown last week. But this was still a major problem - it’s just not acceptable for this level of failure to happen. It’s just one example of long standing infrastructure problems plaguing the US Air Traffic Control system - issues that will only get worse if they’re not resolved in a timely fashion.
Michael Donahue, a recently retired Philadelphia TRACON controller, told NBC News “It’s everybody’s worst nightmare. Every time, the FAA goes back and says this won’t happen again. It keeps happening.” According to Donahue, there were at least half-a-dozen times when the radar they used to track planes suddenly stopped working. He said they lost radio contact with pilots on almost a weekly basis.
“People would come out of the room screaming, ‘We’ve lost the frequencies!’” Donahue said. “That’s almost just as scary, because you could see two planes going towards each other and not be able to do anything.”
The Problems
One major issue is the technology running these systems. Parts of Philly’s TRACON, as well as other air traffic control facilities around the country are run on floppy disks. Air traffic control systems currently in use by the FAA rely on a system called IDS (Information Display System). This particular tech is run on 1990s Microsoft software. According to Forbes, 92% of the FAA's Facilities & Equipment budget (which is about $3.5 billion) is spent just maintaining these ancient technologies, which require constant maintenance. When they do break down, finding replacement components can be extraordinarily expensive, since they mostly aren’t made anymore. A 2023 report by the National Airspace System sums up the issue pretty well:
"If unaddressed, the ATO will be unable to maintain current capacity, let alone expand and modernize the system. The understaffing [we’ll get to that in a moment] that currently exists within the ATO places additional strain on the system, further eroding the margin of safety and increasing risk.”
The second big problem in the American ATC system is the controllers themselves; or lack thereof. A CBS News analysis of FAA data concluded that at least 90% of ATC towers don’t meet the staffing targets. The severe scarcity of controllers was thrust into the spotlight after the tragedy at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan Airport in January, where an American Eagle CRJ and an Army Blackhawk collided, killing 67. At the time, only 1 controller was doing the job of two. An NTSB preliminary report on the crash listed ATC staffing as a “contributing factor,” but far from the whole story.
Air traffic controllers experience extraordinarily high rates of burnout. It’s an extremely high stress job, with limited support and relatively low pay. The average salary for a controller is around $144,000, which is certainly nothing to scoff at, but it’s still quite low for the demands of the job, including the long working hours. It’s also not an easy job to get people into - training takes, on average, 5-8 years before someone is certified to work at a major commercial airport. There’s no way to fast track controllers, and you certainly don’t want someone rushed through training. On top of those lengthy training requirements, there’s also a mandatory 56 retirement age, which shortens how long controllers can hold their positions.
Solutions Moving Forward
There are plans to modernize the system and reduce the controller shortages. Ranking members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure vowed to make a bipartisan push for FAA funding to upgrade technology. The FAA said in a statement to NBC News that it plans on a “full replacement” of its current Time Division Multiplexing network with an internet protocol by 2028, and air traffic voice communications tech should be replaced by 2027. These are ambitious goals, but if the funding is there, it seems possible.
As for the controller shortage, the FAA is rolling out incentives for new ATCs, including increased pay, shorter application times, and sign-on bonuses. Only time will tell how effective those actually are, though early indications are promising.
