The FAA says the application process can take six months or long, even for applicants who've already studied air traffic control. When asked if it's a good rule, Fanno said, "Probably not, if you're one of the places that has a shortage of controllers."Īs for his recent graduates, Ratkowski and Jaima are among the tens of thousands who applied in the the FAA's three-day window back in May. To apply, you must be younger than 31 years old and, if you're hired, the FAA requires you to either retire at 56 to prevent burnout or apply for a waiver. The FAA currently only accepts applications once a year in a three-day window. He also says the staffing challenges are harder to overcome because of the FAA's age requirements for applicants. And COVID blew a whole in our training pipeline, which we are still working to recover from, although we've made great progress," Buttigieg said.įanno says more training specific to the complex New York airspace would help ensure FAA trainees succeed and stay in New York. ![]() "It is gonna be a journey, especially when you factor in attrition, to get to the levels we wanna see. The Department of Transportation would not agree to an interview for this story, but Buttigieg recently addressed recruitment efforts at a news conference. The shortage recently prompted Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to ask airlines to reduce their New York flight schedules. ![]() ![]() And experts say the nationwide shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers could add to flight cancellations and delays. "I know last summer, from talking to people that I used to work with, there were as few as five or six controllers working where there should've been 10 to 12," Fanno said.įLASHBACK: Flights delayed at LaGuardia, Newark airports due to air traffic control staffing problem Shutdown eyed as causeĭata from the FAA shows the New York TRACON is staffed at about 54% for air traffic controllers, compared to a national average of 81%. Instructor Steve Fanno knows the importance of his work, in part because of what he hears about his old co-workers at the New York TRACON - the area's main air traffic control center. "Just something about telling the aircraft what to do and seeing them doing it, even in a simulator, is enjoyable to me," recent graduate Kyle Ratkowski said.
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