FAA's Staffing Troubles Make Flying More Dangerous, Controllers Say

Staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities have a negative impact on public safety and have made conditions more dangerous for years, two air traffic controllers told Newsweek in the aftermath of the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in decades.

The Federal Aviation Administration employees, who requested anonymity because they are forbidden to speak to reporters, said low staffing levels in the high-pressure job equate to long hours, widespread mandatory overtime and high rates of turnover within the federal agency responsible for protecting the nation's busy skies.

FAA officials did not respond to a question on the controllers' allegations that staffing shortages have a detrimental impact on safety and operations.

"The air traffic system, especially in reference to staffing, is absolutely critical," one veteran controller told Newsweek. "It's been dangerous for years."

One controller, with nearly 10 years of FAA experience, said it's unclear if insufficient staffing factored into the January 29 collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter, killing 67 people in the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001. But it wasn't wholly surprising to many aviation experts, he said.

"We've all seen s**t that's f***ing crazy, that nobody hears about, right? The unfortunate reality is that we have been saying for years, it's going to take a fatality with an air carrier to get people's attention," he said.

Air Traffic Control: 'Low Pay', 'Brutal Schedules'

The controller said the FAA's workforce suffered from relatively low pay within the aviation industry compared to pilots and brutal schedules, especially for employees with children.

"It used to be an air traffic controller made more than a first officer, but just a little less than a captain," he said. "Kids who are going to college are choosing the pilot route instead of the controller route because the pilot route has a better quality of life and it pays way more."

President Donald Trump said FAA diversity requirements could be to blame following the Potomac River crash.

One controller said the diversity requirement did affect hiring and excluded some qualified candidates—including military veterans—although the training was the same for everyone and nobody who was working was unqualified to do so. A second controller said he believed hires on diversity grounds had not significantly impacted operations but could have had an effect on staffing numbers.

Air traffic controllers earned a median annual salary of $137,380 in May 2023, compared to $219,140 for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Air traffic control specialists earn a median annual wage of $127,805, with pay increases for completion of additional training, according to the FAA's website.

"The annual salary for more advanced controllers who have completed on-the-job training varies with the location of the facility and the complexity of the airspace," the site explains, adding that additional factors include experienced candidates who were directly hired by facilities.

Pay varies widely between states, with those in New Hampshire making an average $163,480 compared to $75,950 for Arkansas.

Former FAA administrator Mike Whitaker, who resigned in late January, said during his confirmation hearing in October 2023 that more competitive compensation was needed to address the shortage of air traffic controllers but little has changed since, the controller said.

Air traffic controllers help safeguard more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers nationwide per day.

Most air traffic control specialists work full-time, with some putting in additional shifts, including on weekends and holidays. But they can retire at age 50 following 20 years of service—unlike most other federal employees who must work 30 years before retiring— and enjoy larger annuities than their counterparts, according to the FAA.

The agency announced in September that it had hired more than 1,800 air traffic controllers in 2024, bringing the nationwide tally to more than 14,000, including roughly 3,400 in various training stages.

But the number of certified professional controllers stands at 10,800, several thousand short of the current target of 14,600 as set by the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union that represents the federal employees.

Staffing targets for certified professional controllers at airport towers and terminal approaches had only been 72 percent met as of September 2023, FAA figures show. Ronald Reagan National Airport, near the site of the disaster, had met only 63 percent of its staffing target.

FAA officials said reversing the decades-long decline of air traffic controllers is a top priority.

"We continue to hire and onboard new controllers. Their work is critical to meeting our safety mission," the agency told Newsweek in a statement.

Candidates get up to four months of training in Oklahoma City. Then on-the-job training begins, lasting up to four years and with some failing to make it through. Each location has unique factors including weather patterns, traffic volume and geographic features that trainees must master before becoming certified.

A mandatory retirement age of 56 meant more stress on those still in the system, one controller said. That meant the FAA handing out overtime like water or candy because the alternative was to reduce flights, the controller said.

Controllers at virtually all larger FAA sites, including Air Route Traffic Control Centers and Terminal Radar Approach Control Facilities, have six-day work weeks based on actual facility staffing levels compared to volume and complexity, the controller said. Newsweek was not independently able to confirm the figures.

The impact of the shortage on safety is "definitely detrimental," the controller said.

Prior to the disaster in Washington, D.C., the deadliest U.S. aviation accident in two decades occurred on November 12, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into a neighborhood in Belle Harbor, New York, killing 260 people. The deadliest plane accident in U.S. history took place on May 12, 1979, when American Airlines Flight 191 crashed during takeoff at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, killing 273 people.

"The fact there has only been one major accident in the last 20 years shows how rugged, stress-tested and safe the U.S. is," the controller said. "But it's definitely teetering on the edge of disaster."