An air traffic controller at Newark is like ‘a 3D chess player who can juggle a chainsaw' with their eyes closed, ex-pilot says
Despite the system outage at Newark Liberty International Airport that has delayed flights into this week, air traffic controllers tasked with airport's logistics already have a ridiculously hard job, a former United Airlines pilot said.
'I equate a good, A-level, traffic controller that can handle a place like Newark, JFK, LAX, San Francisco, to a three dimensional chess player who can juggle a chainsaw, an axe, a sword, a razor blade with his eyes closed,' Aero Consulting Experts CEO and a former United pilot Ross Aimer told Fortune.
Last week, air traffic controllers in the Philadelphia TRACON (PHL) tasked with oversight into the logistics of arrival and departure flights at the Newark Liberty International Airport 'temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them,' the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) told Quartz.
The incident came after an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army Blackhawk Helicopter over the Potomac killing everyone on board and adding further scrutiny to the Federal Aviation Administrations and its 50-year-old technology.
While there were no accidents as a result of the outage at Newark, the 60- to 90-second darkness 'was the most dangerous situation you could have,' an on duty air traffic controller told CNN.
Following the outage, some employees 'who work Newark arrivals and departures have taken time off to recover from the stress of multiple recent outages,' the Federal Aviation Administration posted on X. Under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, air traffic controllers are allowed to take a 45-day 'trauma leave' after a stressful event.
A supervisor, three controllers, and a trainee were among those who took the 45-day leave, another air traffic controller told CNN.
'While we cannot replace them due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace,' the Federal Aviation Administration posted on X.
The ranks of qualified air traffic controllers are sparse. In January, NATCA President Nick Daniels said in an interview with CBS News that there are 10,800 air traffic controllers, but the number should be 14,335. Additionally, more than 90% of the nation's air traffic control facilities fall below the recommended staffing levels, The New York Times reported.
NATCA did not return Fortune's request for comment.
'It takes a long time to train [an] air traffic controller,' Aimer said.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website, entry-level applicants must 'spend several months' completing training courses at the agency's academy before gaining two to three years of classroom and hands-on experience.
'A lot of these guys, they burn out,' Aimer said. 'They can't finish the training, which is very grueling,'
Due to the staffing shortage in Newark, United Airlines pulled 35 round-trip flights to the airport.
'Keep in mind, this particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it's now clear — and the FAA tells us — that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,' United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement.
Currently the Philadelphia-based tower in charge of Newark has '22 fully certified controllers and 21 controllers and supervisors in training,' according to an FAA statement obtained by Fortune.
'We have a healthy pipeline with training classes filled through July 2026,' The FAA wrote.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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