ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — Air traffic controllers at both Regan National Airport and Dulles International Airport are collectively clocking thousands of overtime hours each year, Federal Aviation Administration data obtained by DC News Now show.
The overtime hours speak to the “dangerous” conditions decried by lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday as Congress weighs an FAA reauthorization bill, facing a Dec. 31 deadline.
Understaffing appears to be a glaring issue at the Washington Tower. In 2021, controllers worked 1,218 overtime hours. In 2022, that number rose to 6,561. As of September of this year, controllers at the tower had already worked 5,882 overtime hours, on pace for 7,843 total overtime hours for the year.
Dulles Tower air traffic controllers worked 2,795 overtime hours in 2022, nearly double the amount worked in 2021. Year to date, Dulles Tower workers have clocked 1,678 overtime hours.
During a Thursday morning House Subcommittee on Aviation hearing, Rich Santa, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, called current staffing conditions “abysmal.”
“Six-day work weeks and 10-hour days are not sustainable. One-man sectors are not sustainable.” Santa told subcommittee members. “We need more people in our facilities with the maximum hiring for the duration of the bill that will help us tremendously.”
Rob Speck, of Marshall, retired from the FAA as a controller supervisor in December 2022. He told DC News Now that long work days mean many controllers are forced to work for long periods with no break than federal standards permit.
“Sometimes you slip and in most jobs you can have a slip and it’s not a problem. Our slip could be deadly,” Speck said.
He said that hiring is also an issue, as controllers are retiring or leaving for the private sector at a rate that eclipses the hiring and training of new controllers. He said it takes about two years to fully train a controller, and towers and control centers are forced to push the limits.
“They might not have the length of training they should have had, and get pushed through a little quick,” Speck said.
Some days, short staffing isn’t a problem, Speck said.
“When you have a lower staffing, if the traffic isn’t bad and it’s a beautiful clear day, it’s not a problem. But on a day you might get severe thunderstorms and you’re having to out a bunch of traffic, you might not have the bodies to get in there and really do it successfully,” he said.
In August, the FAA announced a series of runway safety meetings following an alarming number of close calls and near misses on runways across the nation.
“I would say the staffing is definitely a factor,” he said. “You get someone who starts to get a little bit tired on position because they’ve been on there for a really long time and it’s been busy the entire time.”
Speck added that they’re feeling overworked from long, hard hours.
“The longer you keep them in there, the harder you work them, the more chances that there’s going to be a slip up somewhere,” he said.
The House of Representatives approved a reauthorization bill for the FAA with a 351-69 vote. The Senate has yet to weigh reauthorization.
