Prior to last week's fatal airplane crash in the state of Washington, the US air traffic control (ATC) system was viewed as an undermanned operation plagued with outdated and sometimes obsolete machinery.
The investigation into the collision between a regional passenger jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter is still in its initial stages. The devastating consequences of this incident brings to an end the United States' 16-year streak of no fatal commercial air crashes, and is likely to bring the ATC's issues into sharp focus.
Last year, a government auditor cautioned that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) difficult record with technology updates posed a risk of the agency becoming overwhelmed in light of increasing need.
"Turning this around will be a massive task, requiring the efforts of many years and a significant investment of billions of dollars," Kevin Walsh from the Government Accountability Office stated to a Senate committee.
Continuous struggles have resulted in recurring attempts to privatize the United States' air traffic control, a push that conservatives have been driving since ahead of the second term of President Trump.
In December, the libertarian Cato Institute described the air traffic control system as "antiquated, mismanaged and... headed for a crisis," arguing the air traffic control system was ripe for privatization under the push of White House advisor and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who advocates for a leaner government.
However, Michael McCormick, a former FAA control tower manager, observed that past attempts to privatize air traffic control have stumbled due to resistance from entrenched aviation stakeholders.
"This devastating accident will surely put the national air traffic system under scrutiny and may ultimately lead to budget increases to upgrade and keep the system in a well-maintained state," he stated in an interview.
The ATC system's transition to a satellite-based infrastructure was made possible by advancements in technology, allowing controllers to directly transmit messages to planes via a channel other than phone lines.
Staffing crunch
The agency's staffing shortage has a long history, said McCormick, partly due to a mandatory retirement age and periodic government shutdowns that have hindered the recruitment process.
These issues further deteriorated during the pandemic, temporarily stopping training.
A scarcity of air traffic controllers turned out to be a major issue as airlines began to steadily increase service in response to a spike in travel demand from consumers looking forward to exploring the world again following COVID-19 lockdowns.
Major transportation centers like New York City and Miami currently have two-thirds or fewer of the required air traffic controllers.
Due to the shortage, the Federal Aviation Administration has relaxed minimum flight requirements at New York airports, enabling carriers to operate fewer flights while maintaining their takeoff and landing slots.
US air traffic control union argues the agency does not anticipate resolving the labor shortage by summer.
Industry officials point to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which stated a current lack of approximately 3,000 air traffic controllers.
There were approximately 10,800 air traffic controllers as of the end of 2024. The agency took on more than 1,800 new air traffic controllers last year and aims to hire around 2,000 this year, the Department of Transportation announced in December.
Airlines for America, representing major US carriers, has worked with the FAA and universities to increase controller training at more educational institutions, extending the capacity beyond that of the FAA's training center in Oklahoma City.
Louisiana Tech University has recently received approval from the relevant agency to provide courses. It will start offering the initial part of its four-year undergraduate program sometime this spring.
The Federal Aviation Administration "really wants us to join the program," said Matthew Montgomery, head of professional aviation at Louisiana Tech University. "They want more people to participate in order to ease the stresses."
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