Does Sacramento’s airport have an air traffic controller shortage? Here’s what the FAA says
Despite a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers thrust into the spotlight after a deadly aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., a report shows staffing levels at Sacramento International Airport were on par with Federal Aviation Administration standards.
The FAA’s 2024-2033 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan shows that as of September 2023, Sacramento International had 14 fully trained air traffic controllers and one more person at a high level of training. Three more people were at an earlier stage of training, according to the documents.
The federal agency’s “staffing standards target” for both certified professional controllers and certified professional controllers in training was 11. The county-operated international field had 15 people in those categories.
However, the Collaborative Resource Workgroup suggests higher staffing numbers. A partnership between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the workgroup put the ideal number for Sacramento at 16 fully- or mostly-certified workers. The airport had one fewer worker than that target.
Executive Airport tower staffing
Sacramento Executive Airport, on the other hand, narrowly avoided a scenario in which no one was working in the tower. ABC10 reported last week that Sacramento County emailed businesses at the airport Jan. 24 to inform them that the tower would be unstaffed as of Feb. 1. The report by KXTV said that a new contract was struggling to fill the roles.
That county email went out just a few days before the mid-air collision in D.C. between an American Airlines commuter jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. The crash Wednesday night killed 67 people.
Scott Johnston, a spokesperson for the county, confirmed Monday that the FAA had extended its contract with the current provider, Serco, until March 31, keeping the control tower at the general aviation airport near Land Park staffed.
The new provider, Robinson Aviation, also took over a contract at a small airport near San Francisco, with similar results. The Mercury News reported that the San Carlos Airport — which along near flight paths for San Francisco International Airport — was about to lose all its air traffic controllers due to a contract dispute between the workers and Robinson. The FAA temporarily extended the contract with Serco to avoid an unstaffed tower.
Air traffic control ranks thinning
Across the U.S., the FAA’s air traffic controller pool is short thousands of workers. The federal agency said last year that the shortage was exacerbated by a lapse in funding during a 35-day government shutdown under President Donald Trump’s first administration. Staffing levels were already at a 30-year low before the shutdown began in December 2018. It forced the FAA to close its training facility in Oklahoma City and suspend hiring.
Hiring was further slowed after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
The Sacramento International Airport is not a major hub. Out of 82 airports ranked by the FAA, Sacramento came in 42nd for the amount of takeoffs and landings.
Air traffic controllers have faced major hiring hurdles before. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 of the workers for, he said, participating in an illegal strike. That number represented a vast majority of the workforce. The strikers had sought higher pay and a 32-hour workweek.
Currently, there are about 14,000 air traffic controllers in the U.S.
