"NextGen... What About Now-Gen?"

You can blame the weather... you can blame scheduling conflicts... heck, you can even (try to) blame corporate jets. If you want the real reason behind frustrating airline travel delays, though, try looking in the control tower.

That's the word from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Locked in a contentious power struggle with the FAA for the past 14 months over a new contract, the union says a lack of qualified personnel plays a big role in flight delays nationwide.

The discrepancy lies in the number of experienced controllers retiring, or leaving the job under other circumstances. NATCA says new hires aren't being brought in fast enough to replace them... adding significant numbers of trainees are choosing to leave the job, too, due to low pay under the FAA-imposed contract ATC'ers currently work under.

"We are at an 11-year low in the number of fully trained, experienced controllers (11,467)," NATCA Communications Director Doug Church writes in a release to ANN. "It's 1,100 fewer than were working in 2001, the year the FAA now says we've equaled in traffic volume. There's only so many planes we can handle at a time and only so many radar control positions that can be opened due to staffing."

Inadequate capacity on runways and at airport gates also leads to delays, the union adds... contrary to statements by the FAA, and domestic carriers. Those entities blame this year's record flight delays on increasing passenger traffic, and outdated technology unable to handle additional jets in the system, and complications caused by poor weather conditions.

NATCA President Pat Forrey doesn't necessarily dispute those problems are factors in flight delays... but he does believe the FAA and airlines are looking too far ahead for answers -- to the touted "NextGen" satellite-based control system -- and neglecting short-term solutions readily at hand.

"NextGen is pie in the sky. What about Now-Gen?" Forrey said, reports The Associated Press. The union leader adds the FAA has conducted a "masterful PR campaign" to drum up support for NextGen, but passengers won't experiences the benefits of such a system for at least 10 years.

NATCA's complaints of inadequate staffing aren't new -- and neither is the FAA's response.

Agency spokeswoman Laura Brown says the FAA believes it has adequate staffing nationwide, and has planned ahead for coming retirements. She notes the agency has hired about 1,700 air traffic controllers over the past year, and hopes to increase the number of controllers from almost 15,000 to 16,000 by 2016. (In a recent, candid discussion with ANN, FAA Western Region Spokesman Ian Gregor also took NATCA to task on its claims of inadequate staffing -- Ed.)

Contrary to the FAA's assertions, however, NATCA says the numbers speak for themselves.

"[S]taffing at JFK Tower in New York is down to 25 controllers. That's a 32 percent drop from the 2001 staffing level of 37," the union says. "But traffic at JFK has increased by 40 percent since 2001. The 25 controllers is also three below what even the FAA believes is the minimum acceptable staffing level. The agency says staffing at JFK should be between 28 and 34, according to its official controller workforce plan."

As ANN reported Wednesday, DOT figures for August 2007 show on-time performance among the nation's airlines improved from July of this year... but remains poorer than the same timeframe in 2006.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org, www.dot.gov