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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
recently announced it would address the
expected increase in air traffic control-related
job retirements by hiring 15,000 more air
traffic controllers over the next decade.
The agency says it has improved its training
and ramped up recruitment efforts. 'We have
enough controllers in the pipeline,' an
FAA official recently announced. 'Our goal
is to have the right people in the right
places at the right time.' However, under
the new guidelines, the number of controllers
at some airports would decrease.
The FAA raised its estimate for the number
of controllers expected to retire in the
next 10 years. The agency also boosted its
hiring target for 2007 to achieve the net
increase of 189 needed to offset a growing
surge in retirements. The agency now expects
to see 7,146 retirements in the next 10
years, about 400 more than predicted in
last year's hiring review. The FAA changed
the total partly because controllers retired
at a faster rate last year than the agency
expected. The hiring target for fiscal 2007
moved up to 1,400, compared with 1,136 in
the earlier forecast.
The new estimates appear in the latest
update to the agency's controller hiring
plan. Congress demanded that FAA refresh
this plan annually to show how it is preparing
for an expected surge in controller retirements.
In general, FAA expects 72 percent of its
controller work force to become eligible
for retirement in the next decade.
ATC Hiring
Trends
For the first time, the FAA included a detailed
breakdown of controller staffing needs at
each of its ATC facilities. The U.S. Transportation
Dept.'s inspector general has repeatedly
called for such a breakdown, and has criticized
the FAA for not producing it sooner. The
controllers' union, meanwhile, claims the
agency's new facility staffing estimates
are artificially low.
The first six months of FY2006 saw controller
retirements track very close to projections,
but the rate increased in the second half
of the year, FAA said. By the end of FY2006,
583 controllers had retired -- 116 more
than expected. FAA now expects 700 retirements
in FY2007, 57 more than in last year's plan.
Estimates for FY2008-2010 have gone up by
about 50 each year. Projected losses through
resignations, removal and promotion have
also risen slightly. Combined controller
losses for all reasons are expected to total
13,527 in the next 10 years, dominated by
retirements.
Top FAA officials noted
that the hiring plan is designed to be flexible,
reflecting retirement trends as they emerge.
They reported that this year's hiring target
will increase, if necessary, to achieve
the net increase of 189. The FAA wants an
average net increase of 143 controllers
a year in the next decade. The agency also
announced that there are some ATC facilities
where staffing is more of a concern. These
so-called 'focus facilities' include Southern
California approach control (SOCAL) and
the Atlanta and Houston facilities. Most,
however, are smaller towers and approach
controls, where the loss of a small number
of controllers can make a big difference.
The FAA has directed most new hires in the
past two years to en route centers, but
it now stresses switching them back to approach
control.
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The National Air Traffic
Controllers Association says the facility
staffing requirements calculated by FAA
are far too low. In testimony presented
at a recent congressional hearing, NATCA
President Patrick Forrey accuses the agency
of "staffing to budget" instead
of "staffing to traffic." Forrey's
testimony includes numerous examples of
understaffed facilities and controllers
not being allowed to take sick leave. NATCA
accuses FAA of using the new staffing estimates
to shoot down the union's claims of the
severity of the understaffing problem. NATCA
also points out that FAA's hiring strategy
came too late because of a couple of years
of low hiring. Controllers being hired now
will not be fully qualified for three years,
NATCA said.
A Virtual
Tour Of Estonian ATC
Creating safe and efficient air traffic
control services is a global effort. Even
controllers in relatively small countries,
such as Estonia, work hard to keep their
respective air traffic safe. For example,
Tallinn Airport, also 'emiste Airport (IATA
airport code: TLL, ICAO airport code: EETN),
is approximately 4 kilometers from the city
center of Tallinn, Estonia. It is open to
both domestic and international flights,
and is completely owned by the Estonian
government. The airport consists of a single
asphalt-concrete runway, measuring 3070
meters long and 45 meters wide. The airport
handles nearly one million passengers and
over 25,000 aircraft movements annually.
In addition, Estonia's national airline,
Estonian Air, is based at Tallinn Airport.
This week's video feature is from
Avjobs.com's Estonian contributor
Georg Liigand. He provides Avjobs viewers
with a special behind the scenes look at
air traffic control and aircraft movements
at Tallinn.
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