Last year, the facility directed 1.36 million operations. Controllers in Aurora and at O'Hare also direct planes in the Chicago area. The radar complaints come as controllers raise concerns about the FAA's plans to speed air traffic at O'Hare using controversial spacing and landing procedures. Under the plans, the FAA could resume testing a procedure as early as next month that stacks arriving planes vertically around O'Hare's airspace. The planes would have to be at least 1,000 feet apart.
Arrivals now are usually single-file.
Bunting said that while controllers support increasing the efficiency of flights in and out of O'Hare, the radar situation raises questions about the safety of the procedure. Controllers also signed a letter to the FAA citing pilots' concerns about another procedure at O'Hare that allows faster takeoffs and landings on intersecting runways. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. ABC News Internet Ventures. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Internet Safety Information applicable to this site.