Staffing concerns KCI traffic controllers

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Federal aviation officials are reviewing staffing at air traffic control towers across the country. In Kansas City, the local controllers’ union reports problems.

“The one issue we still haven’t been able to crack (with the Federal Aviation Administration) is staffing,” said Kevin Peterson, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in the Kansas City region.

It is a national issue made urgent by an air traffic controller who fell asleep while on duty at Regan National Airport in Washington DC this week. It forced two planes to land without help from the control tower. The person involved was a 20-year veteran who was working his fourth consecutive overnight shift.

Peterson said the incident is disappointing and never should happen. However, he also believes it’s important to note the man involved was a supervisor, not a front-line controller.

“A supervisor’s job is to oversee the operation,” Peterson said. “They don’t necessarily get in there and work the traffic everyday like we do.”

Those who do work with traffic everyday seem to be retiring in waves, Peterson said. It leaves experienced controllers in stressful situations.

“We’re training the next generation right now and that’s an on-going process,” Peterson said. “Doing all of that training adds stress to the job because you are not only responsible for yourself, but for the person you are training.”

Peterson does not consider it a burden. However, he said it is a challenge NATCA believes can be solved with larger staffs. However, the union and federal officials disagree on how much staff is enough.

“They’ve got their number and we’ve got our number,” Peterson said. “Hopefully, somewhere in the middle we can meet and make sure these facilities are properly staffed so that controllers are not over-worked (and) are not fatigued.”

Sometime next week, NATCA representatives plan to meet with FAA officials to work on possible solutions.