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Air traffic controller school los angeles12/12/2023 ![]() They work eight-hour shifts - morning, swing and graveyard.ĭuring the busiest times of day, controllers must handle about 120 to 130 aircraft an hour, or one about every 30 seconds. This fall, flights have been reaching 1,800 to 1,900 a day, at least 28% more than in 2009.Ĭontrollers oversee it all from a centralized 22-story tower, which has a 360-degree view of the airport. ![]() LAX, which has experienced a 5% to 6% annual growth rate due to a resurgent economy, now handles about 9 million more passengers a year than in 2005.ĭuring the summer, daily arrivals and departures on the airport’s four runways regularly exceed 2,000. He said they are necessary given a dramatic surge in air traffic, modernization projects on the airfield that require more ground control and the wider use of very large passenger jets that need special procedures to move safely around the airport. If staffing levels decline enough, it could at least lead to slowdowns in airport operations and trigger delays for travelers.įoote believes that 52 certified controllers, plus 10 trainees, would be adequate to staff LAX around the clock. The NTSB has found that errors by tired controllers have contributed to serious runway incursions, where planes stray too close to where others might be moving. Reports by the federal Government Accountability Office and the National Transportation Safety Board show that high levels of overtime and understaffing at air traffic control facilities have potential implications for aviation safety and the efficient handling of the multimillion-dollar aircraft they guide. The annual salary of a typical controller is about $122,500, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, with overtime paid at time and a half. The vast majority of extra hours, Foote said, are absorbed by fully certified controllers, many of whom have been putting in at least 40 six-day workweeks a year. There were 606 hours of overtime in 2006. ![]() Meanwhile, overtime has continued to climb, from 5,866 hours in fiscal year 2008 to 13,396 hours in fiscal 2015. Three others could become supervisors.Īccording to the association and the inspector general’s 2009 audit, the number of fully certified air traffic controllers at LAX has dropped from 45 in 2004. Foote says 19 controllers are eligible to retire or are awaiting retirement dates. ![]() Though staffing numbers can be fluid, LAX now has 39 fully certified controllers and 11 trainees who were credentialed at other airports but need to learn local procedures. The FAA and union leaders attribute most of the problem at LAX to three major things: deep congressional budget cuts, an unexpectedly heavy rate of retirements and the complexities of maneuvering hundreds of commercial planes a day - from regional carriers to international jumbo jets - around a relatively small, 3,500-acre airfield surrounded by urban development. “You just can’t take an academy graduate and expect him or her to qualify in a complicated tower like LAX’s.” Kennedy in New York.īut LAX is “in worse shape than a lot of the facilities we have concerns about because of the complexity of the traffic,” said Patricia Gilbert, executive vice president of the controllers association. They include Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston Intercontinental as well as La Guardia and John F. The controllers association said some of the most acute staff shortages are at five air traffic control centers that guide aircraft into several dozen major airports. Several rounds of hiring have occurred during the last two years, they added, and more recruitment drives are planned. It is in the best interest of everyone, especially the flying public, that the staffing and overtime issues get resolved.”įederal Aviation Administration officials said they share the controllers’ concerns and that steps are being taken at LAX and facilities across the country to attract and train additional personnel. ![]() We are tired, and we have been grinding this out for years. “We are not saying the sky is falling or an accident is imminent. “It’s gotten worse,” said Mike Foote, an LAX air traffic controller and local representative of the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. ![]()
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