JetBlue Calls on FAA to Fix Staffing Problems Amid Strong Travel Demand

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes brought up an important issue currently facing aviation in the United States right now during a recent discussion on the low-cost airline’s first-quarter results and second-quarter predictions with CNBC on Tuesday, April 25: the shortage of air traffic controllers. 

“We have a significant amount of capacity that is in and out of New York,” said Hayes during his interview. “It’s our largest market that we fly to. The FAA has told us and other airlines that they are far from fully staffed. In the New York area air traffic control facilities they’re at about 54 percent of their staffing requirement…and that’s based on a 2014 number.”

“So what we did was we have reluctantly decided to reduce flights in and out of New York this summer. By doing that, it’s going to make the service more operable. If we didn’t do this, the FAA told us that delays would nearly double in the New York area…we wanted to do what we could as JetBlue to eliminate the impact of the shortage of air traffic controllers,” continued Hayes.

The issue is one that Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen understands completely; he spoke before the Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies requesting the annual budget for 2024 just yesterday, April 26. 

Proposed budget cuts to Biden’s proposed annual spending plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act would close 375 air traffic control towers and deepen the already serious issues the administration is facing due to a lack of proper funding, maintenance and decades-long improvement projects that have left the average age of an en route traffic center or combined control building at a startling 61 years old. 

“We expect that air traffic will meet or exceed pre-pandemic levels this year, and we don’t see that growth slowing down,” said Nolen during his address. “To deliver the safe services everyone expects, the budget seeks $117 million to increase the hiring of air traffic controllers and to reduce the air traffic controller training backlog created during COVID…”

“Funding to hire and train air traffic controllers is only part of the equation. They need modern equipment and fully maintained buildings to perform their duty. One such piece of equipment is the NOTAM system,” continued Nolen. “This request includes $19.6 million to retire our aging databases and applications and move to a more reliable, modern system. The request takes our modernization efforts one step further by providing $115 million toward accelerating other priority projects. This funding will allow the FAA the flexibility to respond to unexpected events and to increase capital investments when needed.”

The NOTAM system is a 30-year-old software system that failed back in January, causing the first nationwide ground stop on all flights for the first time since the attack on the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001. The updates could take years to complete but are considered by many, including airline officials, to be necessary. 

It is unknown when the budget will be approved or rejected. The 2024 fiscal year begins October 1, 2023. 

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