By Doug Church, Media Relations Manager, NATCA
Nearly eight months after spending a
month investigating staffing issues, delays, errors and air traffic
controller workload at the Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control
facility, the Federal Aviation Administration has released its
final report - an embarrassing, 12-paragraph, 703-word, memo-like
statement that does extraordinarily little to protect the safety of
the flying public.
The report found that Chicago TRACON's unique operating
procedures created an excessive workload on controllers. Yet the
solution the report proposes is not to add any more controllers,
but to add more supervisors, who do not control traffic. The report
was released just weeks after supervisor ranks at the facility
swelled from 10 to 16, including four pulled from controller
positions, leaving just 66 fully trained controllers on duty when
the FAA authorized total for the facility is 101.
"This report is a clear-cut example of egregious agency waste,
fraud and abuse. I look at this report and say, 'Where's the
beef?'" NATCA President John Carr said. "How do you tell struggling
airlines that they have to cut back on flights and tell passengers
that they will have fewer flights and, then, fail to offer any real
solutions? How do you have the nerve to issue a report that says,
'everything is sort of okay, but we have work to do,' and not even
provide the resources to do it?"
Added Ray Gibbons, Chicago TRACON controller and local NATCA
chapter president: "This report does a real disservice to the
flying public, not only here in Chicago, but across the country. We
are a major hub serving millions of passengers a year and to give
such little thought to the serious situation here is beyond
comprehension. The FAA has already asked the ailing airline
industry to reduce flights. It has said that changes need to be
implemented. So, I ask today, where are the changes? Where is the
staff?"
With the four controllers lost to supervisor positions and three
more moved to the facility's traffic management unit, Chicago
TRACON has suffered a net loss of 24 controllers in the last five
years. And 14 more are eligible to retire today. None of this is
reflected in the FAA's report.
"Do the math. If you don't have enough controllers to manage
traffic loads that continue to set all-time facility records -- now
reaching 4,500 planes per day - you've got trouble," Carr
stated. "You've got delays, you have congestion - and, yes, real
safety concerns."
FAA investigators had opportunities to interact with many
controllers during the team's facility visit from January 21 to
February 20, but the final report is devoid of any controller
perspective, input or knowledge, confirming NATCA's prediction of
such an outcome in a press release on Jan. 22.
"The FAA has some explaining to do - and not just to us - most
importantly, to the flying public," Carr concluded. "They need to
tell the public how they plan to make sure that we have enough eyes
watching the skies over Chicago. So far, they just break the backs
of their dwindling ranks of controllers, hoping the odds will
continue to go in their favor and disaster stays at arm's length.
They are resorting to making controllers work an extraordinary
amount of overtime - meaning that we have tired eyes watching our
skies."