Air Traffic Control System on the Verge of Collapse?

June 26, 2008— -- Looking to make a quick $100,000?

The Federal Aviation Administration is offering higher incentive bonuses to attract veteran controllers to move to facilities in Westbury, N.Y.; Aspen, Colo.; Nantucket, Mass.; Anchorage and Fairbanks in Alaska, among other locales.

How many jobs need to be filled? "Vacancies: Many," according to employment notices posted by the FAA.

Although the FAA said this week that it is offering higher incentives due to the high cost of living in these areas, others said the hefty bonuses, of differing amounts, are due to critical staffing shortages in the nation's air traffic control towers.

The FAA is scurrying to retain seasoned employees and hire and train new controllers as those who started working after the air traffic controllers strike in the early 1980s approach retirement. The FAA expects to replace nearly its entire workforce over the course of the next decade.

But the National Air Traffic Controllers Association insists that the turnover means too many inexperienced employees will be directing traffic, perhaps dangerously, across the skies. The union said the FAA job openings illustrate just how dire the situation is to appeal to those with more experience. Controllers also are locked in a fierce contract dispute with the FAA, and they see these new incentives as yet another example of an air traffic control system on the verge of collapse.

"It's a sign of desperation that staffing is so bad at these facilities that the FAA has to offer such an outrageously high sum of money instead of negotiating a reasonable and logical solution to the mess it has created," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controller's Association in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the FAA, the agency has offered incentives for transfers to a total of 25 air traffic control facilities around the country since January. It has increased those bonuses or added facilities to its list on four occasions since the winter to appeal to potential hires.

Take New York as an example. According to the FAA, in January, the agency was offering air traffic controllers $27,000 for relocation, as well as a bonus up to $25,000 for committing to three years of work. The perks have gotten far better. Now, if you apply by July 8 to work at the high-stress approach control facility and get hired, you'll still receive $27,000 to transfer there from another facility, but if you also agree to commit to four years, you'll receive up to $75,000 over four years as an incentive bonus.