US airspace system ‘threatened’ by compulsory furloughing

April 25, 2013

The ITF warned on 24 April that the operation of the USA’s National Airspace System is being put in danger by compulsory furloughing (involuntary leave) of Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control staff.

The furloughs are taking place as part of federal ‘sequestration’ cost-cutting, despite the long-standing recognition that air traffic control cannot arbitrarily lose staff at times of high traffic.
 
Speaking from the IFATCA (International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations) conference in Indonesia, ITF general secretary David Cockroft said: “This is not a labour dispute - it's an unprecedented measure that should be gravely worrying to everyone in the aviation community. The removal of staff, especially at peak traffic flow periods, means that it's not just punctuality and efficiency being put at risk here, but, potentially, safety too.”
 
He continued: “The ITF strongly urges that these furloughs be halted. The hazards of any other course of action could be just too great.”

The ITF’s concerns are shared by the US National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which in a statement issued on 22 April warned that “the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration will be detrimental to the National Airspace System (NAS) … and their effects will likely have long-lasting consequences”.