Feds Investigate LAX Air Traffic Controllers
Federal officials are set to investigate air traffic controller staffing levels at Los Angeles International Airport.
Officials from the Inspector General's Office (IG) at the Department of Transportation will examine the staffing levels and experience of controllers at LAX.
The decision follows a request made by Los Angeles Senator Dianne Feinstein, who believes the busy hub may be understaffed.
Feinstein's request came after an IG report, released two weeks ago, which warned that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was not training controllers efficiently enough and that there could be a shortfall of experienced controllers at key airports.
Terminal Radar Approach Controls
The IG audit into staffing and experience levels will look at Los Angeles International itself, as well as the Terminal Radar Approach Controls (TRACONs) centres in nearby San Diego and Sacramento.
Feinstein commented: "We are losing large numbers of air traffic controllers to retirement, and I'm very concerned that the Federal Aviation Administration is falling behind on filling these vacancies with properly trained and certified replacements".
The Senator pointed to recent FAA statistics for staffing levels at Los Angeles and the Southern California TRACON as evidence of why the inquiry is needed.
The statistics showed that there are 43 air traffic controllers at LAX, just within the authorised staffing range. The Southern California TRACON in San Diego has 162 fully-certified contrrollers, below the minimum staffing level of 194 controllers.
Feinstein said she ordered the study into because she was concerned about whether the FAA will be able to adequately maintain safe staffing levels in light of the IG report.
The Senator added: "The FAA continues to assert that staffing is adequate and that safety isn't compromised. And yet, veteran controllers say that staffing is an issue. This is the whole point of having the inspector general look at this: to provide facts we need to ensure that the skies above California are safe".
Understaffed Air Traffic Control At LAX
The claim that there is understaffed air traffic control at LAX has been refuted by the FAA, who say there is enough cover in the system.
However, air traffic controllers themselves welcomed the inquiry.
Mike Foote, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) representative at Los Angeles, said: "We feel that the FAA has been playing fast and loose with the facts. If we aren't understaffed at LAX, why do we have three to five people working overtime every day? Even then, we still run short."
Source - Airport International's US Correspondent
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