Aviation Safety: Serious Problems Concerning the Air Traffic Control Work Force: Rced-86-121

GAO reported on its study of the air traffic control (ATC) work force. GAO: (1) surveyed air traffic controllers, supervisors, and facility managers about the prevalence of certain problems; and (2) studied Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data on staffing, overtime, and air traffic activity.
GAO found that: (1) the ATC system is operating with fewer controllers overall, and far fewer fully qualified controllers (FPL), than before the August 1981 controllers' strike; (2) while FAA has established a 75-percent FPL staffing goal for all ATC facilities, only 66 percent of the total controllers are FPL; (3) FAA groups FPL and less-qualified controllers together when it reports on the size of the work force and its progress toward meeting staffing goals; (4) training attrition has increased 9 percent since the strike; and (5) many more controllers may retire in the next 2 years than FAA expects because of concern over proposed changes in the federal retirement system. GAO also found that: (1) air traffic has reached record levels and is expected to continue to grow; (2) controller work loads will continue to be a source of concern because major labor-saving innovations in the ATC system will not be in place for some time; (3) many controllers believe that they are overworked because of a shortage of FPL, inadequate traffic flow control procedures, airline schedules, and ATC sector configuration changes; (4) while FAA reported that systemwide overtime use decreased, overtime use at major-route ATC centers actually increased; and (5) FAA relies very heavily on overtime to compensate for reduced staffing requirements. GAO believes that, despite repeated FAA assurances to the contrary, the ATC system does not provide the same level of safety as it did before the strike.