Air Traffic Controllers’ Union Throws Wrench in Sean Duffy’s Bid to Boost Hiring; Air Travel Will Be ‘worse’ This Summer, Lawmakers Warn — as FAA Gives Infuriating Update On System Fixes, Staffing Issues

Air traffic controllers’ union throws wrench in Sean Duffy’s bid to boost hiring: sources

The top union for air traffic controllers is hampering Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s plans to boost hiring by penalizing those who want to work beyond retirement age, The Post has learned.

Duffy is offering cash bonuses of up to 20% of annual salaries for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers eligible to retire but younger than the mandatory age of 56 — and hoping to retain even more through through the age of 61 via exemption waivers.

“They’re fantastic, they’re great at their jobs, they get to an eligible point of retirement and they take that retirement,” Duffy, 53, told reporters May 1.

“Why don’t we try to incentivize those really well-experienced air traffic controllers? Let’s incentivize them to stay. Let’s get them to stay on. Not only do we have that experience, but they can also help train up those younger, newer controllers coming into their family.”

But the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has undercut the planned staffing blitz by threatening to punish any members who use waivers, according to sources familiar with the effort.

A union amendment reviewed by The Post and apparently agreed to by two-thirds of its members earlier this month will cap controller seniority on the date they start using a waiver.

“Each waiver puts early retirement at risk by showing the Agency [FAA] and Congress that mandatory retirement is unnecessary,” stated the amendment, which is expected to take effect in October.

“Waivers do nothing to benefit NATCA,” it added. “Early retirement is a privilege that we earn by working one of the most stressful jobs in history.”

“NATCA is fully committed to working with Secretary Duffy, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the national airspace system is staffed with the best and brightest air traffic controllers,” a union rep told The Post Wednesday evening.

“We continue to support Secretary Duffy’s plan to supercharge staffing and modernize the air traffic control system. NATCA remains in alignment with Secretary Duffy’s plan and the department’s priorities.” —>READ MORE HERE

Air travel will be ‘worse’ this summer, lawmakers warn — as FAA gives infuriating update on system fixes, staffing issues:

Flight delays and cancellations are bound to only get “worse” heading into the summer, members of Congress warned Wednesday — as Federal Aviation Administration officials said it’ll take another year or more to update aging infrastructure and complete recruitment for controllers.

This year, the tragic mid-air collision that killed 67 people at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, a spate of frightening near-misses and a 90-second communications blackout in Newark have only added to the urgency as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy seeks to overhaul the nation’s air travel.

“We have been rightfully focused on the tragedy, the loss of life, with the American Airlines flight,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said in a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing with FAA officials Wednesday.

“But as pointed out by my colleagues, so many problems at Newark, and as I go into the summer season, it’s hard to believe that they won’t get worse — and then just across the country,” added Klobuchar, highlighting another near-miss involving a flight en route to Minneapolis in March.

The FAA is still short roughly 3,000 air traffic controllers and in the process of updating copper telecommunications wires for a brand-new fiber-optic network, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans a hiring blitz and pledges billions of dollars will go toward overhauling systems.

The current copper wire system is causing “almost 1,000 outages a week,” one airline industry official previously told The Post.

But the recruiting won’t be finished and infrastructure won’t be fully in place for at least another year or more, FAA officials confirmed in the hearing.

“Congress and the administration must think boldly about how we can set the FAA up for long-term success,” said Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “Both our economy’s productive capacity and the safety of the nation’s airspace depend on it.”

Air Traffic Organization deputy COO Franklin McIntosh revealed in an exchange with Klobuchar that the agency is only on track to hire 2,000 air traffic controllers by the end of this year — despite being “3,000 short.”

“We have to account for attrition,” McIntosh said. “I think we’ll finally start gaining traction this year, where we outpace attrition. And then we’ll start seeing over the next 18 to 24 months where we actually see a positive gain in the controllers.” —>READ MORE HERE

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