Federal Aviation Administration: Efforts to Hire, Staff, and Train Air Traffic Controllers Are Generally on Track, but Challenges Remain
Published: 2008-06-11T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Each day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controls the take-offs, landings, and flights of over 50,000 aircraft. To accomplish this mission safely and efficiently, FAA must have a sufficient number of adequately trained air traffic controllers working at its air traffic control facilities. Over the next decade, FAA will need to hire and train nearly 17,000 controllers to replace over 15,000 current controllers, most of whom will be retiring. This massive hiring effort will occur as FAA begins to implement the next generation air transportation system (NextGen), which will integrate new technologies and procedures into air traffic operations and fundamentally change the role of air traffic controllers from controlling individual aircraft to managing air traffic flow. Hence, FAA will need to train experienced controllers to use the new technologies at the same time that it hires and trains new controllers to operate both the current and the new technologies. This testimony addresses FAA's progress and challenges in hiring, staffing, and training air traffic controllers in the current air traffic control system and in preparing them for NextGen. It is based on prior GAO work, updated with reviews of FAA documents and interviews with FAA officials, controller union representatives, and other stakeholders.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: To prepare for the projected departure of over 15,000 air traffic controllers between 2008 and 2017, FAA began significantly increasing the number of new hires in fiscal years 2006 and 2007, when it hired 1,116 and 1,815 controllers, respectively. By contrast, in fiscal years 2002 through 2005, it had hired an average of 467 controllers per year. Retirements are taking place sooner than FAA expected. As a result, FAA has had to adjust its hiring targets upward--from 1,420 in fiscal year 2008 to 1,877, for example. While FAA has met its hiring targets so far and is on track to meet its target for fiscal year 2008, it has had to expand its applicant pool, in large part because fewer military controllers have sought civilian employment since the Department of Defense began to offer reenlistment bonuses of up to $60,000. As FAA brings new controllers on board, it faces the challenge of ensuring that its control facilities are adequately staffed to meet their unique traffic demands. In 2007, FAA established staffing ranges for each facility based on facility-specific information, such as air traffic operations, productivity trends, expected retirements, and number of controller trainees. However, FAA's staffing is not aligned with the new ranges at about half of its facilities. While overstaffing will provide trained replacements as retirements occur, understaffing has potential safety and efficiency implications. As the proportion of new hires increases over time, FAA will face further challenges in balancing the numbers of trainees and fully certified controllers at each facility. Furthermore, with fewer fully certified controllers and greater on-the-job training demands, controllers may work more overtime hours. Overtime can lead to fatigue, and many controllers routinely work overtime, raising safety concerns. Both GAO and the National Transportation Safety Board have found that controllers' work schedules can contribute to fatigue and have made recommendations to mitigate it. FAA is taking steps to address these recommendations. In the training area, FAA faces the dual challenge of certifying its new hires to operate today's air traffic control system as quickly as possible and of preparing to train both experienced controllers and new hires to operate NextGen technologies. Through training improvements, scheduling efficiencies, and greater use of simulators, FAA has, it says, reduced the amount of time controllers remain in trainee status; however, attrition among controllers in developmental training is increasing. It will be important for FAA to monitor the attrition and ensure that performance problems are addressed as early as possible to avoid unnecessary costs. Preparations for NextGen training are still in the early stages--as FAA observes, it is difficult to develop training for systems that have not yet been defined. However, GAO's work has shown that further research is needed to determine what training will be required to support the transition to NextGen--a transition that will involve changes in the roles and responsibilities of air traffic controllers as well as changes in technologies.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on air traffic controller  staffing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for  managing the national airspace system and ensuring the safe and efficient  movement of air traffic. Each day, FAA controls the take-offs, landings,  and flights of over 50,000 aircraft. To accomplish this mission, FAA must  have a sufficient number of adequately trained air traffic controllers  working at its air traffic control facilities. Over the next decade, FAA will  need to hire and train nearly 17,000 controllers to replace over 15,000  current controllers who are expected to retire from or leave the agency.   As FAA brings these new employees on board, it will be important for the  agency to manage the process carefully and expeditiously and to maintain  the highest levels of safety in the national air space system. Furthermore,  FAA will be dealing with this massive hiring need at the same time that it  transforms the current air traffic control system into the next generation  air transportation system (NextGen), which will integrate new  technologies and procedures into air traffic operations and fundamentally  change the role of air traffic controllers from controlling individual aircraft  to largely managing air traffic flow. Hence, FAA will need to train existing  controllers to use the new technologies at the same time that it hires and  trains new controllers to operate both the existing and the new  technologies.
My testimony today focuses on FAA’s progress and challenges in hiring,  staffing, and training air traffic controllers in the current air traffic control  system as well as preparing them for NextGen. This statement is based on  prior GAO studies and work we conducted in May and June 2008,  including reviews of FAA’s annual controller workforce plans and other  key documents; discussions with senior FAA officials and representatives  of FAA’s controllers union—the National Air Traffic Controllers  Association (NATCA)—and aviation industry groups; and updates of the  results of prior GAO studies. We conducted all of our work in accordance  with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards  require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate  evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions  based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained  provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our  audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: FAA Is Making Progress in Hiring Air Traffic Controllers, but New Hires May Have Less Experience Than in Prior Years
paragraphs: During the coming decade, FAA will be challenged to continue hiring  thousands of air traffic controllers to replace those who will retire and  leave for other reasons. In March 2008, FAA projected that between 2008  and 2017, it will lose a total of 15,483 controllers through retirement and  other reasons, and our analysis of FAA data indicates that about   63 percent of the current controller workforce will become eligible for  retirement by 2017. However, FAA’s data indicate that more controllers  are retiring sooner than FAA anticipated. As table 1 shows, the percentage  of controllers retiring within 2 years of eligibility has increased from about   33 percent in 2005 to 42 percent in 2007. For fiscal year 2006, FAA  estimated that 467 controllers would retire, but 583 actually retired—about  25 percent more than planned. For fiscal year 2007, FAA anticipated 700  controller retirements, while 828 controllers actually retired—an 18  percent increase over anticipated retirements.
To replace these controllers, FAA started making significant increases in  controller hiring in fiscal years 2006 and 2007, when it hired 1,116 and  1,815 controllers, respectively. (By comparison, during fiscal years 2002  through 2005, FAA hired an average of 467 controllers each year.) FAA  plans to hire about 16,980 new controllers during fiscal years 2008 through  2017. FAA anticipates hiring 1,877 controllers in fiscal year 2008, which  would bring the total number of air traffic controllers to 15,130. Figure 1  shows the estimated numbers of losses and planned hires for fiscal years  2008 through 2017. FAA projects the total number of controllers will  gradually increase from 15,130 in fiscal year 2008 to 16,371 in fiscal year  2017.
FAA incorporates each year’s retirement numbers into its plans for future  years and has increased its hiring to compensate for the larger-than- expected numbers of retirements. For example, the 1,877 controllers that  FAA plans to hire in fiscal year 2008 represent a 28 percent increase over  the 1,420 hires for 2008 that the agency planned for a year ago. According  to FAA data, the agency is on track to meet its hiring target for fiscal year  2008. As of May 30, 2008, it had hired 1,290 controllers—about 62 percent  of the planned hires. FAA recognizes that some of these increases in  retirements may be attributable to recent labor disputes and  disagreements over the contract that went into effect in 2006.
To keep on track with hiring controllers, in 2007 FAA expanded its  applicant pool to include the general public. Previously, FAA had generally  limited its hiring to individuals with prior FAA or Department of Defense  (DOD) air traffic control experience and graduates of FAA’s Air Traffic  Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program. The agency began looking  farther afield, FAA officials said, because fewer military controllers have  been seeking civilian employment since DOD established incentives to  retain its controllers. For example, in 2007, the Air Force began offering  reenlistment bonuses of up to $60,000 for military air traffic controllers,  and the Marine Corps offers reenlistment bonuses of up to $40,000. By  comparison, FAA offers recruitment incentives of up to $20,000 for air  traffic controllers with experience and retention incentives of up to  $24,000 for controllers who have submitted papers indicating that they  plan to retire. To further expand its hiring pool, in October 2007, FAA  added nine new colleges and universities to AT-CTI, bringing the total  number of schools to 23. Students who have successfully completed  aviation-related programs of study from these schools are an increasing  source of FAA hires. The number of AT-CTI graduates hired as controllers  increased from 195 in fiscal year 2005 to 1,019 in fiscal year 2007, or 56  percent of hires.
section_title: Hiring a Large Number of Controllers Presents a Staffing Challenge for FAA
paragraphs: As FAA brings new controllers on board, it faces the challenge of ensuring  that its control facilities are adequately staffed to meet their unique traffic  demands. In 2007, the agency established staffing ranges for each facility  that considered facility-specific information, such as air traffic operations,  productivity trends, expected retirements, and the number of controllers  in training. These new ranges are an improvement over FAA’s historical  approach, which was to compute the number of controllers needed  systemwide and negotiate the distribution of these totals to the facility  level. In 2007, we found that FAA’s staffing was not aligned with the new  ranges at 104 facilities—about one-third of FAA’s 314 facilities. At that  time, 93 facilities were overstaffed and 11 were understaffed. Our review  of updated staffing ranges and on-board levels contained in FAA’s 2008  controller workforce plan indicates that staffing is not aligned at 45  percent of the facilities. As of April 2008, 145 facilities are overstaffed and  12 are understaffed.  According to FAA, the agency is purposefully  overstaffing facilities with new hires so that they are trained and ready to  replace retiring controllers over the next few years.  However, the  understaffing at some facilities has potential safety and efficiency  implications.
Within the next several years, the balance of experienced and newly hired  controllers will shift dramatically, adding a layer of complexity to FAA’s  determination of proper controller staffing levels for its air traffic control  facilities. Although the projected number of new hires each year  represents a relatively small proportion of the total controller workforce— about 12 percent per year—in a few years, the cumulative effect of hiring  at that rate on the experience level of the workforce can be large.  According to FAA, about one quarter of the controller workforce had less  than 5 years of experience at the end of fiscal year 2007. Our analysis of  FAA’s hiring and retirement projections indicates that by 2011, up to 59  percent of the controller workforce will have less than 5 years of  experience and by 2016 that percentage will remain over 50 percent. With  such a high percentage of newly hired controllers, fewer experienced  controllers will be available to provide on-the-job instruction to trainees  and more time may be needed to train and certify newly hired controllers,  according to FAA. In addition, newly certified controllers may be less  efficient than experienced controllers in handling the large volume of  traffic that occurs at large and congested airports.  However, the current  and forecasted decline in air traffic that is being attributed to the rising  cost of aviation fuel, the subsequent rise in costs to passengers, and the  nation’s general economic condition may provide a window of opportunity  for hiring new controllers and providing experience in a less congested  environment.
Managing air traffic safely and effectively  while training new controllers  will require balancing the numbers of trainees and fully certified  controllers at each facility. Fully certified controllers have completed their  training and are qualified to control traffic at all positions at their assigned  location, and those who are fully certified for at least 6 months can  become on-the-job instructors for new controllers. Our analysis of staffing  at the 50 busiest airports showed that the percentage of fully certified  controllers at each facility ranged from 56 percent to 94 percent. (See app.  I.) The facilities with the lowest percentage of fully certified controllers  include William P. Hobby Airport (Houston) (56 percent fully certified  controllers), LaGuardia Airport (61 percent), Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport (62  percent), and Cleveland Hopkins Airport and Tampa Airport (both 63  percent). Facilities with the highest percentage of fully certified  controllers include St. Louis Airport (94 percent), San Francisco Airport  (93 percent), Portland Airport and Logan Airport (both 92 percent), and  Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport(90 percent).
FAA recognizes the importance of balancing the numbers of trainees and  fully certified controllers. Historically, trainees have accounted for less  than 35 percent of the controller workforce, but the agency is working to  determine target ranges for the number of trainees that individual facilities  can accommodate. These ranges are likely to depend on factors such as  the size and workload of the facility. The speedy development and  verification of these data will help to ensure that facilities have a sufficient  number of fully certified controllers to instruct trainees and to safely and  efficiently manage air traffic. For transparency, it will be important for   FAA to include such data in its annual controller workforce plan.
To the extent that retirement rates and the proportion of trainees at  individual facilities leads to greater use of overtime, the potential for   fatigue can increase, raising safety concerns. We previously reported that  air traffic controllers at some of the nation’s busiest airports were  regularly working 6-day weeks because of staffing shortages, raising  questions about the extent to which this situation may cause fatigue. In  November 2007, we identified controller fatigue as an issue affecting  runway safety and recommended that FAA develop a mitigation plan for  addressing controller overtime by adopting strategies to attract controllers  to facilities with high volumes of air traffic and high rates of controller  overtime. In response to our recommendation, FAA has established a  working group to develop a mitigation plan and identify recruitment and  retention tools. FAA has already taken positive steps toward implementing  the mitigation plan by offering pay and relocation incentives of up to  $25,000 to controllers who volunteer to relocate to facilities that are short- staffed. FAA’s initial offerings have had generally positive results;  volunteers accepted FAA’s relocation offer for 11 locations but 1 location  had no volunteers. It remains to be seen whether future planned offerings  will be successful in achieving the needed staffing levels.
In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cited  controller work schedules as contributing to fatigue and raising safety  concerns. Since 1990, NTSB has placed efforts to address fatigue on its list  of “most wanted” transportation safety improvements, citing safety  concerns about the effects of fatigue on air traffic controllers and other  persons performing critical functions in the aviation industry. NTSB noted  in 2007 that about 61 percent of controllers work rapidly rotating 8-hour  shifts with progressively earlier start times (see fig. 2), and about 40  percent of the controllers in this group (about 25 percent of all  controllers) are assigned at least one midnight shift per week. Many  controllers in this latter group work what is commonly referred to as a  “2-2-1” schedule, which consists of two afternoon shifts, followed by two  day shifts, followed by one midnight shift. For controllers, this schedule  provides a longer weekend, eliminates the need to work more than one  midnight shift in a single week, and allows a long recovery period after  that one midnight shift. However, NTSB found that the schedule is  problematic because it typically includes short rest periods of just 8 or 9  hours between shifts, allows minimal time for sleep when other necessary  daily activities are taken into account, and may include rest periods during  daytime hours when quality sleep may be difficult to obtain.
NTSB has recommended that FAA mitigate air traffic controller fatigue by  working with NATCA to revise controller work-scheduling policies and  practices so controllers will have enough sleep and to modify shift  rotations to minimize sleep disruptions for controllers. The  recommendation was jointly addressed to NATCA because NTSB found  that the contract between NATCA and FAA stipulated certain scheduling  practices, such as shift swapping, that had not been evaluated for their  effect on controller fatigue. In addition, NTSB recommended that FAA  develop a fatigue awareness and countermeasures training program for  controllers and for the personnel involved in scheduling their work. In  supporting its recommendation, NTSB cited four instances from 2001  through 2006 when tired controllers made errors while performing their  duties that resulted in serious runway incursions.  In each case, NTSB  linked controller fatigue to the work schedule. NTSB said that FAA  regulations and policies do not adequately consider the potential effect of  work scheduling on fatigue and performance.
To address NTSB’s recommendations, FAA plans to develop and  implement a fatigue awareness and countermeasures training program.  The agency also plans to convene a working group that includes NATCA to  develop shift rotation and scheduling guidelines. However, NATCA and  FAA disagree on the level of cooperation that is taking place between  them on this initiative. It is critical that FAA and NATCA work together on  this issue to mitigate the potential effects of fatigue on controller  performance and aviation safety.
section_title: Training Program Has Expedited Certification of New Controllers, but Potential Hurdles Could Affect Further Progress in Training for New Controllers and Training for NextGen
paragraphs: Quickly training the newly hired controllers will be critical to FAA’s ability  to expeditiously replace the retiring controllers. FAA trains controllers in  stages, starting with classroom training at its academy in Oklahoma City.  Upon graduation from the academy, controllers are assigned to an air  traffic control facility as “developmental” controllers, where they receive  on-the-job training for specific air traffic control positions. Fully certified  controllers conduct this training by observing and instructing the trainee.  Controllers receive certification for each position as they progress through  the training program.
According to FAA’s 2008 controller workforce plan, the agency has been  making progress in reducing the amount of time controllers remain in  trainee status, which includes time spent at the academy and in a  developmental role. In fiscal year 2005, it took 3 to 4 years to train an air  traffic controller. In fiscal year 2007, it took about 1.9 years at terminal  facilities and about 3.1 years at en route facilities, according to FAA’s 2008  controller workforce plan. The agency attributes this reduction in training  time to improved training and scheduling processes and increased use of  simulators. However, as of May 2008, about 2,700 controllers were in  trainee status, and it is too early to tell how the length of their training will  be affected by factors discussed previously in this statement, such as the  decreasing proportion of fully certified controllers available to provide on- the-job training.
While trainees appear to be moving through the training program faster,  attrition among developmental controllers is increasing, from about 6  percent of new hires in fiscal year 2006 to about 9 percent in fiscal year  2007. According to FAA’s projections, developmental attrition will rise to  14 percent in fiscal year 2008. As of May 2008, the attrition rate for the year  for developmental controllers was about 7 percent. FAA has incorporated  this information into its hiring forecasts, but a high attrition rate has  budgetary implications for FAA—FAA projects that the average cost of a  developmental controller will be $78,095 in fiscal year 2008.  It will be  important for FAA to monitor the attrition rate, track the reasons for  attrition, and release poor performers as soon as possible to avoid  unnecessary costs.
To achieve further efficiencies in training controllers, FAA has initiated a  contracting effort—called the Air Traffic Control Optimum Training  Solution (ATCOTS). ATCOTS would consolidate two existing contracts— one with the University of Oklahoma, which provides controller training at  FAA’s training academy in Oklahoma City, and the other with Washington  Consulting Group (WCG), which provides controller training throughout  the country at air traffic control facilities. FAA plans to award the contract  in June 2008 and have it implemented by the end of fiscal year 2008.  According to FAA, the consolidated contract will allow for more  consistent training and potential improvements and efficiencies in the  training. During the first year of the 10-year contract, FAA’s training  program is to remain unchanged. After the first year, the contractor may  suggest changes to increase the efficiency of the training program. These  changes would require FAA’s approval, according to FAA officials. FAA’s  transition plans for the ATCOTS contract allow for 3-month extensions of  the University of Oklahoma contract and 1-month extensions of the WCG  contract to cover any gaps between the end of the current contracts and  the start of ATCOTS.
FAA employees and other stakeholders have raised concerns about  ATCOTS. According to FAA employees at the training academy, FAA has  not addressed how current academy employees would be used under  ATCOTS or determined what cost and time efficiencies could be achieved  through the contract. An industry stakeholder maintained that ATCOTS  will not provide a sufficient change from the current training and said it  was not clear how the program would meet FAA’s training needs over the  next 10 years, especially any unique needs arising from FAA’s  implementation of NextGen. In addition, because of concern that FAA has  not sufficiently examined the costs and benefits of ATCOTS, a provision in  FAA’s fiscal year 2008 appropriation legislation prohibits FAA from using  any money in fiscal year 2008 for ATCOTS to displace, reassign, reduce the  salary of, or take any other action that would result in a reduction in force  for employees at FAA’s academy or a discontinuation of the academy as  the primary training facility for controllers. According to FAA, ATCOTS  will not affect FAA personnel at the academy in any of these ways.  FAA  also does not anticipate much change in the contractor personnel at the  academy, since the agency anticipates they would be retained by the  ATCOTS awardee. With the current training contracts scheduled to expire  in July and September 2008, the contract extensions that FAA has in place  will be important in case the ATCOTS contract is delayed. If ATCOTS is  delayed or cannot meet its objectives, FAA’s workforce plan may not be  achievable.
subsections: section_title: Both New and Experienced Controllers Will Need Training for NextGen, and Further Human Factors Research Is Needed to Support the Transition
paragraphs: Further work is needed to develop training for both new hires and fully  certified controllers to deal with the paradigm shift that will come with  NextGen. That paradigm shift calls for an increased reliance on  automation and changed roles for both air traffic controllers and pilots  under NextGen. In a more automated environment, controllers will be less  responsible for controlling air traffic—that is, for directing specific aircraft  movements—and more responsible for managing air traffic—that is, for  monitoring conditions as pilots control their aircraft to maintain safe  separation and perform other tasks now performed by controllers. Human  factors will be an important aspect of training air traffic controllers to  handle both the old and the new equipment as the new systems are  gradually brought online. Our past work has shown that when human  factors are not adequately addressed, delays and cost overruns have  occurred in implementing new air traffic control technology.
While some industry stakeholders told us it was too early to begin training  for NextGen systems that are not close to coming online, others said that it  was time to begin developing the training to prepare FAA personnel and  others for the paradigm shift that will be required to implement NextGen.  Furthermore, a change of this magnitude and complexity will require  adequate lead time. For example, one stakeholder noted that the  educational community needs to be engaged now so that it can design  training and be prepared to teach future air traffic controllers and pilots.
In response to these issues, FAA told us that it is difficult to develop  training for systems that are not yet fully defined. However, according to  FAA, it is in the early stages of talking to the educational community. Also,  the simulation laboratories currently used to train controllers can be  modified to reflect changes as NextGen technologies are deployed,  according to FAA. In addition, in fiscal year 2008, FAA began a strategic  analysis to determine how the controller’s job will be expected to change  as a result of NextGen. In fiscal year 2009, FAA expects that this effort will  include an identification of changes to training for the existing workforce  and for new controllers. It will be important for FAA to complete this  effort expeditiously, because NextGen technologies and procedures are  already being implemented. Furthermore, it remains to be seen how this  effort will be affected by the lack of human factors research needed to  support it.
In prior work, we have identified human factors research as a critical  research need for NextGen. The changes in roles and responsibilities for  air traffic controllers that will be central to NextGen technology raise  significant human factors issues for the safety and efficiency of the  national airspace system. According to FAA, verbal communication is a  human factors area that requires further research and development.  Currently, air traffic controllers primarily rely on verbal communication to  direct aircraft. Because NextGen will rely on automated communications,  controllers will require training in both understanding and operating in an  automated communication environment. The research to support such  training has not been conducted, according to FAA. In addition, several  stakeholders that we interviewed expressed concern that NextGen plans  do not adequately address human factors research. Although the National  Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has historically been a  primary resource for human factors and other aeronautical research and  development, its ability to provide human factors research for NextGen  will be limited because it recently lost a significant proportion of its  human factors staff, according to a NASA official. Understanding what  skills air traffic controllers will need will help FAA develop an appropriate  training curriculum for them.
In conclusion, a safe and efficient national airspace system is an essential  part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. It is a key element for domestic  mobility and participation in the global economy. The steps and initiatives  that have been initiated by FAA’s Air Traffic Organization management  team to ensure that there is an adequate and competent air traffic  controller workforce show progress and are commendable. Going  forward, it is imperative that both FAA management and the bargaining  unit find ways to improve their ability to work together to ensure that the  steps and initiatives are sustained, monitored, and periodically revised to  ensure progress for years to come.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased  to respond to any questions from you or other members of the  Subcommittee.
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For further information on this testimony, please contact Dr. Gerald L.  Dillingham at (202) 512-2834 or dillinghamg@gao.gov. Individuals making  key contributions to this testimony include Teresa Spisak, Kevin Egan,  Bess Eisenstadt, Bert Japikse, Taylor Reeves, and Richard Scott.
section_title: Appendix I: Additional Information on Controller Staffing
paragraphs: This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety  without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain  copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be  necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.