Watchdog warns that shortages in aviation meteorologists could endanger flight safety

National Weather Service meteorologists who assist air traffic controllers are working overtime, skipping leave and taking on more responsibilities due to worsening staff shortages, according to a Government Accountability Office report published Thursday, which criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for not doing enough in response to the problem. 

“Not having identified and addressed the risks of the current staffing levels is concerning given the potential safety effects if aviation meteorologists are overworked and the quality of their services to air traffic controllers is diminished,” investigators wrote. 

As of June, NWS said the aviation meteorologist workforce is down to 69 employees, partly as a result of the federal hiring freeze and separation incentive programs like deferred resignation. FAA and NWS in February agreed to a cap of 81 full-time equivalents for such positions. (In 2024, prior to the agreement, the report said that the FAA was pushing to lower that number to 71.) 

Under a 2016 interagency agreement between FAA and NWS, there are supposed to be three meteorologists and one meteorologist in charge at each of the 21 air route traffic control centers across the U.S. But that is not achievable under the February agreement. 

GAO reported that the control center in Oakland, Calif., is down to one meteorologist, another four centers have only two such employees and five centers don’t have a meteorologist in charge. 

Individuals from the four major airlines and three associations representing airlines, air traffic controllers and meteorologists told investigators that they are concerned about the current meteorologist staffing levels. 

For example, the report flagged that meteorologists from other regions are having to fill in remotely for understaffed centers. These employees, however, likely lack knowledge about weather in that area. One airline reported that there’s a decline in granularity when it is receiving information from a back-up meteorologist. 

Remote meteorologists also don’t have access to the same information, according to the meteorologist association, such as system alerts on local wind shifts and gust fronts. Plus, they’re having to perform two jobs at the same time. 

“If a meteorologist from one [team] is also providing backup for another [team], that meteorologist is now monitoring two areas, which in the [meteorologist] association’s opinion is a responsibility too large given the level of attention that each area needs,” investigators wrote. 

Two airlines also told GAO that their weather teams have been requested to provide support due to the vacancies, but three airlines and the air traffic controller association warned that represents potential conflicts of interest. 

FAA and NWS are currently working on a new interagency agreement for fiscal 2026. NWS officials told investigators that they proposed a range of 62 to 71 full-time equivalent meterologists; although, they acknowledged that such a number would likely mean providing less in-person support. 

NWS officials also said that they are planning to hire more aviation meteorologists after they were granted an exemption from the hiring freeze, but GAO is not convinced this will solve the problem. 

“While FAA and NWS are engaged in a number of activities — including hiring more meteorologists and negotiating a future staffing agreement — it is unclear whether these activities will produce the desired results for addressing risks to the safety and efficiency of the [National Airspace System] when meteorologist staffing levels change,” according to the report. 

GAO recommended that FAA, in consultation with NWS, fully identify and address the potential risks posed by current meteorologist staffing levels. 

FAA concurred with the recommendation but also said that the agency is focused on developing a streamlined workforce model. 

“Due to factors including advances in technology that create efficiencies in meteorology, this new service delivery model will likely include 64 meteorologists in new, strategically placed field support locations throughout the NAS,” wrote Anne Byrd, assistant Transportation secretary for administration, in a letter attached to the report. “The benefit of this more streamlined approach includes centralized capability to enhance efficiency, digital coordination, scalability and redundancy.” 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of NWS, said that the sharing of meteorologists with the FAA started because of a 1977 incident when a plane crashed after flying into a thunderstorm. 

The Trump administration is currently seeking to boost the hiring of air traffic controllers.