The US Federal Aviation Administration says it will hire 12,500 air traffic controllers over the next 10 years. The recruitment drive, alongside a
plan to improve training, is aimed to offset an expected wave of retirements.
FAA administrator Marion Blakey says the organisation is being smarter about its staffing needs. "This plan is our blueprint to put the right number of
controllers in the right place at the right time."
The FAA plans to train controllers quicker, which will ensure enough recruits are in the pipeline to replace more than 11,000 who are expected to leave the
agency by 2014.
Hiring an additional 1,500 new controllers over the next decade takes into account increases in traffic volume, a 5% training failure rate and the high
retirement rates beyond 2014.
The FAA has also sent a proposal to the Federal Register to allow exceptional, medically fit controllers to serve beyond the mandatory retirement age of
56.Staffing efficiencies, productivity improvements and better management will enable the agency to reduce staffing requirements by at least 10% over the 10-
year period, cutting the number of controllers needed by 1,700. The plan will be updatedannually to reflect traffic volume changes.
Source: Flight International
