Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA)
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Aviation safety is a top priority of the Committee. The U.S. has one of the safest aviation systems in the world, largely due to the dedication of our air traffic controllers and FAA safety personnel.
However, it's clear from numerous reports that the FAA has not hired and trained enough fully certified controllers, or CPCs, at our busiest ATC facilities to make up for the thousands of controllers hired during the 1981 strike, who are reaching mandatory retirement.
It's not clear why the FAA has dropped the ball on controller hiring, placement, and training given the fact that these mass retirements were anticipated for years.
Many of the problems can be attributed to poor management of the sequestration, as well as the timing and poor execution of significant -- and questionable -- changes to the controller hiring process.
This is another example of the FAA's long-standing inability to adequately manage its controller workforce. Under the status quo, passengers will suffer if the FAA is forced to reduce air traffic flows across the country due to a lack of controllers at key locations, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and New York. Today, we see news reports of the security lines in airports, but if the FAA can't address this issue, we could see similar lines on the tarmac as well.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how to address this problem.