As an air traffic controller, I wrote this and posted in on my FB page [View all]

[bluevoter4life]

We are in a job that not many people think about when they travel. This is what we deal with. Full Disclaimer: Other than the 10,000 I used below, all numbers are hypothetical for purposes of highlighting the point.


For those that don't quite understand the implications this (or any) shutdown this has on essential services, allow me to paint a picture for you (WARNING: Long Post)

I work for the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller. I am deemed "essential" during both times of shutdowns and national emergencies. Right now, I am currently working but not getting paid for my services. What does this mean for you, the American taxpayer?

First and foremost, it means I have to put everything on credit and work with my creditors to delay payment, etc. until the main characters of this badly-written tragedy realize they love each other and skip into the sunset holding hands singing Kumbya. That's just the personal consequences of a shutdown.

Second, I work in a critically understaffed profession. There are just over 10,000 Certified Professional Controllers (CPC) nationwide, plus several hundred more in various stages of training. To make the numbers nice and easy to work with, we'll round the overall controller ranks to 11,000.

Of these 11,000 controllers, roughly 1/3 of them are eligible to retire right now, so that means about 3,600 can walk out the door today. That would dwindle our numbers to to 7,400 NATIONWIDE.

Now, that's just among those that are already working in the FAA.

Let's look at the hiring practices of the Agency for a second. We'll assume that the FAA is authorized to hire 1,500 controllers this fiscal year. Already, they are unable to make up for the 3,600 that are eligible to retire. Keep in mind we have MANDATORY retirement when we hit age 56. Among those 1,500, we will assume that 50% will wash out of the Academy. That leaves 750. Among those that do make it, we will assume that 30% will fail training at their first facility. That leaves 525 controllers out of 1,500. That means 2/3 of those hired are already gone. This still puts us at a deficit of about 3,100 controllers. That is using current numbers. So while the FAA may have "met" their hiring goal on paper, the number of training failures quickly begins to mount and the true numbers become more bleak. The reality is this profession demands about 12,000-14,000 to operate effectively and efficiently.

When a shutdown occurs, many of those that are eligible to retire decide they are tired of the government using them as pawns in a sick game. They decide to pull the plug, and at a higher rate than just a "normal" retirement cycle. This doesn't include those who may not be eligible to retire, but are thinking about leaving the profession to secure a more stable job in the private sector. At the same time, the Academy is shut down and those that are trying to become controllers are literally sent home with the promise of "eventually" resuming their training. The FAA (i.e. the taxpayers) pays those expenses. If the shutdown goes on long-term, the FAA must start their training from the very beginning, which creates a backlog for additional classes and they end up in a perpetual cycle of chronic understaffing. In addition, the FAA (again, the taxpayers) must spend additional money to fly those students BACK to the Academy, plus per diem and housing expenses. In reality, shutdowns do nothing to save the government money and end up costing taxpayers MUCH more.

Understaffed facilities inevitably lead to delays. A supervisor is unable to split a busy sector because there is nobody available to assign it to. As a result, the lone controller becomes overwhelmed and is forced to reduce services until they can catch themselves up. A tower controller working an arrival push by himself because his relief called in sick that day and the next one won't be in for another hour, is forced to hold your flight outside the airspace until traffic is at such a level he can bring you in safely. Because your flight is circling outside Tower's airspace, the radar controller is forced to work that much harder, which mean's you friend's flight may be delayed, which can change the dynamic of the vacation you spent a year planning. Every last one of these events sets off a chain reaction elsewhere in the system. Oh, and did I mention that both of these controllers are being forced to work the maximum 10 hours a day, on their 6th day because the staffing shortages are leading to mandatory overtime? Oh, and their family vacations and much-deserved time-off has been cancelled because the staffing shortages have led to all Leave being denied, and perhaps most dangerously of all, the controllers are fatigued.

I am only speaking about the Agency I work for, but this can be used as a snapshot as to what is ocurring government-wide. Every shutdown has real effects on real people, both on the front-lines, and to many behind the scenes, including the flying public. Eventually, the uncertainty of our next paycheck and the will to simply survive off what little money a controller might have left will cloud their judgement and cripple their ability to perform their job safely. Shutdowns hurt EVERYONE and they must end NOW!