The control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport. FAA is near or exceeding its staff capacity.

The control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport. FAA is near or exceeding its staff capacity. Terraxplorer / Getty Images

The House, Senate and White House all want more FAA staffing, but disagree on how to get there

All parties acknowledge the agency is facing a crisis that will cause mass disruptions to air travel absent more resources.

The Federal Aviation Administration is in line for a surge of new staffing amid concerns the agency is reaching or exceeding the limits of its capacity, but there remain disagreements over how to deliver the resources.  

There is bipartisan, bicameral agreement that FAA is in desperate need for more air traffic controllers and support personnel, which lawmakers and the White House are looking to address before the agency’s current authorization expires this fall. FAA warned earlier this year that staffing shortages would cause a spike in flight delays and force the agency to ask airlines in certain locations to operate fewer flights. 

The House is scheduled to vote on its version of an FAA reauthorization bill this week, which previously won unanimous approval in a 63-0 vote before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The measure would require FAA to set annual hiring targets through fiscal 2027 for air traffic controllers at the maximum level it can train through its academy. As FAA workforce unions have long requested, the agency would have to create and adopt a new workforce model that takes into consideration the needs of individual facilities and input from the labor groups. 

“Our aviation system is experiencing a shortage of qualified workers, including pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers,” transportation committee leaders said of the bill earlier this month. “This bill addresses workforce challenges by removing barriers to pursuing aviation careers, expanding the aviation workforce pipeline, improving training standards, and more.”

Congress will consider its FAA reauthorization bills on the heels of a Transportation Department inspector general report that found a lack of certified controllers created a risk to air traffic operations. The auditors criticized FAA for lacking a staffing plan and noted—as the agency did in testimony to Congress earlier this year—that many facilities were below the 85% staffing threshold that forces prioritized placement. A recent working group found FAA must maintain more than 14,000 controllers to meet demand, compared to the 12,000 the agency is targeting under its current model and the 10,600 it has on staff. 

The White House on Monday took issue with the workforce provisions in the House bill, suggesting they would improperly undermine executive branch decision making. It also said the measure more broadly would institute organizational reforms that would undercut the agency administrator’s authorities. 

“While the administration supports the goal of improving the efficiency of the organizational structure of the FAA, it does not support the proposed changes in FAA rulemaking review and the weakening of the administrator’s ability and authority to determine the appropriate size and allocation of the air traffic controller workforce,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement of administration policy. 

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee introduced its version of the FAA reauthorization legislation last month with bipartisan support from leaders of the panel, though it has yet to hold a vote on the measure. The bill would expand air traffic controller training capacity and also requires a new staffing model. 

“The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act will help get the air travel system soaring again by improving safety and service,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chairs the committee. “The bill provides funding for the latest safety technology on runways, and to hire more air traffic controllers, pilots and mechanics.”

The measure has hit a snag as lawmakers have disagreed on provisions including whether to expand long-distance flights out of Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., and the number of training hours pilots must complete. 

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has endorsed both bills, saying they contain key workforce provisions the union has long demanded. Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, however, said the workforce changes in the House bill were not sufficiently comprehensive. The union, which represents safety inspectors and technicians at FAA, stated that it preferred the Senate version because it would audit the agency’s workforce plans, improve employees’ understanding of the technology they oversee and direct FAA to hire the appropriate number of support employees. 

“I’m pleased the Senate’s bill took into account the concerns we have about staffing levels within the workforces we represent,” PASS President Dave Spero said. “The agency is expecting to do more for the National Airspace System with less. And that is not sustainable.”

Lawmakers have proposed hundreds of amendments to the House version of the bill, including those related to touchstone cultural issues. Assuming both chambers can pass their bills, they will seek to resolve differences through a conference committee before the Sept. 30 deadline. 

Lawmakers are seeking to address the acute problem through the fiscal 2024 appropriations process. House Republicans’ funding bill for Transportation included a spending increase at FAA that would enable the agency to hire 1,800 new air traffic controllers, matching President Biden’s request. The fiscal 2023 omnibus spending bill provided funding for 1,500 new controllers. 

“The hiring and training surge will streamline the path for controller training while further increasing resiliency to serve high demand markets as air traffic increases to pre-pandemic levels,” FAA said in its fiscal 2024 budget request.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.