Resting Workers Face 10-Day Suspensions

In a move many air traffic controllers call ill-advised in the wake of circumstances surrounding the crash of Comair Flight 5191, the FAA has taken a tougher line recently with controllers who are caught napping during work breaks.

The rule -- which states a controller who naps during break times could be suspended for up to 10 days -- isn't new. In the past, however, controllers at several towers and centers have been allowed to negotiate separate agreements with their supervisors, allowing them to rest while on break in an effort to insure they are more alert to deal with busier periods.

That practice was overruled under the new contract imposed by the FAA, which went into effect September 2.

Naps are seen by many controllers as necessary... especially in light of the revelation the controller on duty at Blue Grass Airport the morning of the Comair accident had slept for only two hours between working separate full-time shifts.

In new rules enacted last Saturday, however, the FAA maintains naps can do more harm than good.

"Even though they're on break, they can be called back to work at any time," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown, as quoted by the Associated Press. "If they had to be called back to work traffic and they had been sleeping, they would be groggy."

Union representatives say the rules will have the opposite effect.

"It just seems ambiguous and punitive," said Dave O'Malley, union representative for a control center in Indianapolis. "The work itself requires you to rest and recoup between the sessions."

During slow times -- especially overnight shifts -- controllers are allowed to go to a break room during times of inactivity -- where they could read, watch television... or until recently, sleep. Pagers worn by the controllers alerted them when they needed to resume duty.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org