Blakey, Congress May Not See Eye-To-Eye

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has said in the past she believes ATC hiring is keeping pace with retirements, contending there are sufficient controllers, overall, and planes are being moved safely and efficiently.

The next chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), contends that the FAA requires a workable plan that will address a wave, which has already begun, of retirements, and will keep pace with increasing air traffic.

"Otherwise, we will be left with an air traffic system... unable to accommodate future demands," Oberstar (right) said.

He noted that the FAA plan submitted in June lacked a cost estimate, as well as the number of controllers required at each facility (numbers the FAA promises to provide this spring).

"There is no question in my mind that there are more air traffic controllers retiring than the FAA anticipated," added Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL) to the Gannett News Service. Costello is the likely head of next year’s House Transit Panel’s Aviation Subcommittee.

"The whole agency has been ... frozen and inactive in the face of a number of crises,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), a regular critic of the FAA, adding those crises include controller staffing. "Any time you are understaffed and overworked, you worry about the possibility of errors caused by fatigue."

Another voice saying of "not enough controllers" is Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY), whose district includes Lexington, site of the August 27 Comair crash that killed 49 people.

Outgoing chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, John Mica (R-FL), says the September 3 contract the FAA imposed will solve many staffing issues, including allowing the agency to quickly move controllers to where they are needed.

FMI: www.faa.gov www.house.gov