Nationwide air traffic control tower staffing shortage includes Pittsburgh International, groups say
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- More than 90% of the country's airport traffic control towers, including Pittsburgh International Airport, are understaffed according to analysis of FAA data.
The Federal Aviation Administration data shows that at the time of the report, there were 31 fully-trained air traffic controllers in Pittsburgh, reaching 69% of their staffing target. That number moves to 78% if trainees are included.
Specifically, these numbers show they're not meeting a set of standards set by a working group that included the FAA and the controllers' union.
This issue has received renewed scrutiny following last week's mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people.
Only one air traffic control worker was managing the chopper and some planes from the tower at the time, a job normally done by two people, two sources told CBS News.
"We haven't had enough air traffic controllers in America for a very long time," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. "So we're working with the FAA right now to go, how do we surge and the brightest air traffic controllers to get into the academy, to get trained up and make sure we don't have any staffing issues."
Nationwide, the target number for controllers is at least 14,600 and the country's system is at around 72% of that goal.
In the report, the FAA cites the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons it has struggled to meet staff expansion goals and also noted that on-the-job training was significantly reduced.
