NEWARK, NJ — During the busiest travel time of the year, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) Tuesday toured the control tower and stood with an air traffic controller at Newark Liberty International Airport to sound the alarm on the shortage of air traffic controllers, the impact it’s having on flight schedules, and the current threat in Congress to block critical Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investments needed to help fix the problem.
Gottheimer is fighting back against far-right extremists to pass legislation and make the necessary investments in the FAA. Our airports need a long-term bipartisan deal with predictable funding to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers and continue to make the necessary investments in long-term safety and to prevent delays.
To reduce delays and boost long-term safety:
- Today, Gottheimer flagged for the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Commerce leadership a bipartisan letter he helped send earlier this month demanding that any FAA funding bill we pass include hiring the maximum number of air traffic controllers.
- Gottheimer led legislation that passed out of the House to require a GAO study of flight delays at Tri-State Area airports in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. This legislation helps ensure that appropriate plans can be implemented by the FAA and Department of Transportation.
Air Traffic Controller Shortage:
- We’re on track to gain fewer than 200 controllers in the next decade.
- According to the National Air Traffic Control Center Association President Rich Santa, there are currently 1,200 fewer fully certified controllers today than ten years ago. In that time, air traffic nationwide is up more than 32 percent.
- The situation is so dire that 77 percent of critical facilities are staffed below the Agency’s 85 percent threshold.
- At towers for Newark, JFK, and La Guardia, staffing is at just 54 percent — more than 30 percent below the minimum.
“Jersey families who save their hard-earned dollars for trips should not have to face repeated flight delays and costly cancellations, and that’s especially true during the holidays. We have to support the men and women air traffic controllers keeping us safe. The bottom line: we simply can’t afford to let far-right extremists or political games get in the way of on-time flights and safe travel,” Gottheimer said. “The situation is so dire that at control towers for Newark, JFK, and La Guardia, staffing is at just 54 percent — more than 30 percent below the minimum.
“We need to hire and train more air traffic controllers ASAP. That’s the only way to get more planes in the air safely and stop the delays. To get that done, we need to get a bipartisan deal done to fund the FAA now — no more delays, no more government shutdowns, no more extremists playing political games with the safety of the skies. We can’t keep rolling the dice on the long-term safety of air travel. Patchwork solutions will not solve our problems,” Gottheimer said.
