Summary

Many factors have caused ATC staffing to be on a decline for a long time. The reasons for this are varied, a common factor is cost cutting and savings. The effects of this situation have added safety risk. For economic reasons, and cost saving benefits, many ANSPs have reduced staffing and required existing ATCOs to work extended hours. This paper explores the effects of these ATC Staffing shortages and seeks to mitigate this issue globally.

Introduction

1.1 Professional and Legal Committee (PLC) presented Working Paper (WP) 166 in Arusha, Tanzania, 2008 on Staff Shortages in Air Traffic Control. The average shortage of ATCOs was around 10% worldwide in 2006. According to a questionnaire on staffing, the traffic was expected to increase, and staffing was being reduced.

1.2 This paper explores the conditions that were affected by staff shortages such as reduced margins of safety, unwanted overtime usage, stress, and remuneration of Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs).

1.3 Many of these challenges still exist, while new challenges have been presented such as the COVID-19 pandemic, war, and worldwide economic turmoil further compounding this issue across the globe.

1.4 This paper seeks to consider the effects of the old challenges as well as explore the effects of new challenges which are compounding the issue of Air Traffic Control (ATC) Staffing around the globe.

1.5 This paper also seeks to propose new methods to mitigate the issues around the staffing crisis and ensure the same situation does not repeat itself in the future.

Discussion

2.1 In IFATCA WP 93, Crisis Management, presented by PLC and Technical and Operations Committee (TOC) in Bulgaria in 2015, a crisis is defined as:

A state of inability to provide air navigation service at required level, affecting system and/or personnel, following an unusual or unforeseen situation.

2.2 COVID-19 certainly seems to fall into this category, and it lasted longer than predicted and affected all aviation stakeholders globally. At times, especially during COVID-19, airspace closures and staffing challenges have caused an unforeseen situation limiting air navigation services or stopping services altogether. Many challenges that were referenced in WP 166, Staff Shortages in Air Traffic Control, are still the challenges the aviation world continues to face. Additionally, the pandemic, war, and economic challenges have introduced even more risk and an immediate need for better solutions.

Reasons for staff shortages

2.3 COVID-19

The pandemic’s global impact on Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) has put more strain on the system and staffing than any other crisis. Air traffic volumes hit an all-time low resulting in a strain on the finances of ANSPs who rely on user fees to operate. According to EUROCONTROL, almost 13 billion dollars were lost globally to this crisis in Air Traffic Management (ATM) alone. Revenue losses of this volume are clearly not sustainable, especially when operating costs are not easily mitigated. Cutting staff during a crisis is simply a false economy. Regardless of whether there is one aeroplane in the airspace or one hundred aeroplanes in the airspace, ANSPs must keep the airspace open and operating in a safe, efficient manner with adequate staff. It is not possible to put air navigation services on hiatus. How ANSPs are responding to COVID-19 is vital to their recovery. With the pandemic far from over, many ANSPs have chosen to suspend air traffic training, including on-the-job training. This disruption has halted training progress while ATCO staffing remains at an already low level. To recover from the financial burden felt by the pandemic, 97% of ANSPs in Europe reduced their skilled controller workforce by offering early retirement, discontinuing hiring, or laying off ATCOs in training. This will put the ANSPs in a deficit situation as it will take an average of three to five years of training new ATCOs to supplement their current staff and meet current and forecasted demand (EUROCONTROLTV, E. (2022, October 6). Eurocontrol Conference “where to next for European Aviation?”. YouTube. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO9yYe5rEb0).

2.4 War

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused airspace closures in Belarus and Moldova and affected traffic flows across Europe and Asia. Several states have experienced an overload of traffic, while other states have experienced a huge drop in capacity due to airspace restrictions and route revisions in the Baltic states where most routings went to Russia. Also affected, were routes between Asia and North America. According to EUROCONTROL’s Seven Year Forecast, Europe is dealing with 82% recovered demand since 2019 with only 80% airspace capacity due to airspace restrictions (Scarr, S., Kawoosa, V. M., Chowdhury, J., & Sharma, M. (2022, March 4). Unfriendly skies. Reuters. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/AIRLINES/klpykbmropg/). This effect might be occurring in other parts of the world in conflict situations such as airport closures due to civil unrest in Peru and Mexico.

2.5 Economy

The continuing financial impacts brought on by the pandemic as well as an unprecedented global economic upheaval have led ANSPs to implement cost-cutting measures. Most of these measures included a reduction in staff, whether in the form of furlough, early retirement, or training termination. This has not only had a negative impact on morale, but it has also changed the working environment for ATCOs. Changes in staffing levels and working patterns can have an impact on operational staff and negatively impact system capacity.

Effects of Staff Shortages

2.6 Mental Health

As a result of COVID-19, geological conflicts, and economic crisis, the psychosocial climate in ANSPs has been highly influenced by concerns about job uncertainty. These concerns have increased the levels of anxiety and stress among ATCOs. This could negatively impact the psychosocial climate in operational functions which can impact safety. Increased stress can negatively affect human performance. With reduced traffic levels, ATCOs have experienced a degradation in performance and have not been able to adequately practice their skills. The same has been experienced by the airline industry. Pilots did not have proper access to simulators during the pandemic.

2.7 Human Performance

In some member states, mandatory overtime has become the new normal. ATCOs have been required to work extended hours and extra days. ATCOs have not been able to use their vacation time. Previously planned technological advances were delayed and reduced staffing has exacerbated the problem. This can have a negative effect on an ATCOs mental and physical health. ATCOs being required to work longer days and more overtime shifts will suffer profound consequences of mental and physical fatigue as outlined in the Fatigue Management Guide for Air Traffic Service Providers, 2016 by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) / International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (IFATCA) / International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The continued use of extended work hours and overtime in lieu of proper ATCO staffing will continue to be detrimental to the individuals involved and has the potential to decrease the margins of safety and redundancy built into the global air traffic control system. It is well established that the long-term effects of extended hours and excessive overtime lead to a decrease in human performance. The ATC system is completely people centric. Likewise, investment in ATCOs over technology will ensure a safe and expeditious operation through normal situations and through crises.

Existing IFATCA POLICY

2.8 WC 10.3.5 – Extra Duty

This policy was created following WP no 125, Work and Rest Scheme, Jerusalem, 1995, WP 165, Review Policy on Hours of Work, Istanbul, 2007. The policy states:

2.9 WC 10.3.6 – Staffing

WP 166 – Staff Shortages was presented by PLC in Tanzania, 2008. Paragraph 2.2.6 Staffing numbers and/or principals states: Most MAs reported that the staffing numbers and/or principals reported by their ANSP are insufficient or incorrect. Traffic in most cases is increasing at double the rate compared to the staffing increases for last year. Some ANSPs are opting not to replace retiring staff at this stage. Planning for staff by ANSPs is lacking and it is only realised there is a critical shortage when it is too late. It seems like accurate preplanning is lacking and ANSPs do not like acknowledging to the public and users that there is a staff shortage and keep it hidden until the last possible moment. Last-minute drastic measures are implemented to try and correct the staff shortage and most of the time it involves the remaining ATCOs to help save the day. This situation adds more pressure to the current system and can lead to tiredness and potential sickness due to a lack of adequate rest periods. The policy adopted from this WP states:

2.10 This policy is effective in normal operation but does not capture the situation in unforeseen circumstances and culture surrounding the global staffing issue. When ANSPs are measuring demand and staffing to air traffic numbers, they are looking in the past on a rising market which is creating more demand than they are forecasting. Additionally, they are not integrating in the rate of attrition or numbers lost while ATCOs are in training status, retiring, unexpectedly ill, or leaving the training program.

2.11 MED 8.2.4 – Fatigue in Air Traffic Control

The Policy states:

2.12 In many states, ATCO fatigue was not managed properly during a crisis. For example, staffing to traffic in an effort to save costs which caused a need for overtime when traffic returned before staff could be replaced.

2.13 WP 167- Determining and Result of Inadequate Staffing, Cancun, Mexico, 2002 states: To determine if an ATS unit or facility is adequately staffed, the ATS must consider the number of staff required to manage an ATS unit adequately. When determining adequate staffing of any Air Traffic Services Unit (ATSU), it is imperative that Member Associations (MAs) not only consider the number of ATCOs needed to manage the everyday operation, but the number of ATCOs needed to manage the operation in the event of an emergency, natural disaster, or crisis. Also imperative, is to integrate the attrition rate at each ANSP considering the amount of time it takes to fully certify and considering that not every ATCO new hire will end up fully certified. This figure may be different at each facility depending on the operation.

ANSP Examples

United States (US)

2.14 In the US, according to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) Workforce Plan, the FAA planned to hire 1500 controllers in 2020 and in 2021. Due to the pandemic, the agency initiated a staffing reduction method to avoid backing up the training facility. The FAA obtained over 57,000 applications (Stoddard, M., & Sweeney, S. (2022, August 10). FAA gets more than 57,000 applicants for air traffic control jobs. ABC News. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/faa-57000-applicants-air-traffic-control-jobs/story?id=88201145) for the positions but had initially only planned to hire 500-800 controllers to fill the vacancies. In the workforce plan for 2019-2022, the FAA sites a backlog of training and the plan to staff to traffic, which was down due to the pandemic. The FAAs report to Congress included inflated figures which included staff specialists, ATCOs in training, and ATCOs without medical qualifications in the staffing count. The FAA hiring rate was not keeping up with attrition (Shepardson, D. (2022, July 26). U.S. Air Controller Union chief says FAA Staffing not keeping up. Reuters. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-air-controller-union-chief-says-faa-staffing-not-keeping-up-2022-07-26). The President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) pointed out the effects of staffing issues and the need to re-evaluate air traffic controller staffing solutions. The lack of hiring enough controllers created a constant need to use significant amounts of mandatory overtime to cover shifts for an extended period. In 2022, the lack of staffing in the US created more delays and airspace flow restrictions than in 2019. There were several airspace flow programs and 30% more delays than in 2019. NATCA and the FAA reached an agreement to restart the Collaborative Resource Workgroup (CRWG) to conduct a facility-by-facility survey of our controller staffing. In concert with the CRWG activity, the FAA and NATCA solicited input from an independent contractor to assist the CRWG. The CRWG documented their findings in a report.

2.15 NATCA and the FAA made great progress on solving the staffing issue by reaching an agreement to launch this CRWG to adjust the way they calculate the necessary staffing at each facility by including each facility’s collaborative leadership in the conversation and ensuring to account for attrition, medical disqualifications, and training.

Europe

2.16 A continuing problem in civil aviation is the scarcity of air traffic controllers. To combat this, some Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) in Europe are initiating recruitment drives (Eurocontrol. (n.d.). Become an air traffic controller. Recruitment of student Air Traffic Controllers. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://atco.eurocontrol.int/#about). The impact of these shortages within Europe and around the world cause serious travel disruption, often in peak times. Traffic levels during the COVID-19 pandemic plummeted to previously unseen levels. In Ireland, for example, the staff situation limits the functioning of services; training is minimal or cancelled, and granting leave is difficult in the tower and approach units. In the Aria Control Centre (ACC) and for support functions, staffing barely allows for the effective functioning of services, training and leave.

2.17 Overtime is common (up to 20% of the operational requirement) in the tower and approach units, occasional (up to 10% of the operational requirement) for the ACC and rare (below 5% of the operational requirement) for support staff.

2.18 The operational staffing plan looks 3-5 years ahead, while for support staff, this is 1-3 years.

2.19 The Service Provider is effectively unable to cope with unexpected events or projects.

2.20 Staff shortage has occasionally contributed to safety events in the towers and rarely in the ACCs (IFATCA. (n.d.). Staff shortage survey – EUR region. IFATCA. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://www.ifatca.org/staff-shortage-survey-eur-region/).

2.21 In 2022, traffic slowly returned, and forecasts suggest traffic will continue to increase year-on-year reaching pre-pandemic levels around 2024, and then increase by a projected 2-3% every year. All the challenges the industry faced prior to the pandemic will likely return, including constraints on the availability of staff. (WP for the 2023 IFATCA Conference: Conversion of Military ATCO Licenses).

Australia

2.22 During COVID-19 Australia instituted a program offering all air traffic controllers over the age of 55 the opportunity for early retirement. This resulted in approximately 150 retirements out of a total of around 900 operational controllers. Subsequently, the recovery in air traffic has been faster than expected, routinely resulting in airspace closures and traffic metering due to a lack of operational staff.

New Zealand

2.23 ‘Reduced Capacity’ NOTAMs are common. With traffic levels picking up and being short of On-The-Job Instructors the problem is increasing rapidly.

2.24 Most sectors have procedures for “de-staffing” positions. These were designed primarily for when traffic levels reduce and not all positions are required. The ANSP has been using these procedures to cope with staff shortages instead. When some en-route sectors close during peak times a few procedures that revert some parts of airspace to Class G and Regular Public Transport (RPT) traffic get alternate clearances that re-route them around the uncontrolled sections. Some RPT operators opt to leave controlled airspace and track through the Class G airspace – often due to their destination aerodrome being uncontrolled either permanently or also due to a lack of staff. If the Aerodrome (AD) is normally controlled, then there will also be a NOTAM for traffic restrictions and procedures at that aerodrome.

Canada

2.25 Several years ago, Nav Canada had severe staffing issues. As a result, they had to downgrade some portions of the airspace in Edmonton FIR, which is the northernmost part of the airspace extending to the North Pole during the midnight shifts. During the day and evening, the airspace was Class A (controlled airspace). For the midnight shifts, they did not have staff to cover, so the airspace was downgraded to Class G (uncontrolled airspace). Aircraft were allowed to fly in this airspace, but since it was uncontrolled, almost all aircraft avoided the airspace due to the added risk and legal liability it would have caused for the airlines.

Methods used for dealing with short-term ATC staff shortages.

2.26 Whilst not endorsing any specific methods for dealing with ATC staff shortages, the following are examples of practices various states are using:

Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM)

2.27 Annex 11 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation says, “Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) shall be implemented for airspace where air traffic demand at times exceeds, or is expected to exceed, the declared capacity of the air traffic control services concerned.” This is supported by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Document 9971 Manual on Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM), which states, “As a general rule, ATFM is needed whenever airspace users are faced with constraints on their operations, and in areas where traffic flows are significant.”

2.28 Additionally, traffic flow management initiatives could be effective in continuing services where airspace is impacted by reduced staffing. These initiatives can include ground stops, ground delay programs, and time-based flow management. These types of programs can control the volume of traffic through impacted airspace rather than closing the airspace or transitioning to uncontrolled airspace.

Traffic Information Broadcasts by Aircraft (TIBA)

2.29 When an ATSU is understaffed due to personnel shortages, some states discontinue the air traffic control service for that portion of airspace. ICAO Annex 11 provides procedures called ‘Traffic Information Broadcasts by Aircraft’ (TIBA) “are intended to permit reports and relevant supplementary information of an advisory nature to be transmitted by pilots on a designated VHF radiotelephone (RTF) frequency for the information of pilots of other aircraft in the vicinity” in the absence of air traffic service. It notes that TIBAs “should be made only when necessary and only as a temporary measure” (EUROCONTROL. (n.d.). Traffic information broadcasts by aircraft (TIBA). SKYbrary Aviation Safety. Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://www.skybrary.aero/articles/traffic-information-broadcasts-aircraft-tiba).

2.30 While this procedure is being used in some states, it is not necessarily a best practice for dealing with staff shortages. Some states also close towers/airports or combine airspaces tasking ATCOs with more workload than is appropriate. This could result in introduced risk due to non-standard configurations. A better solution and best practice could be to design a “playbook” of routes around the impacted airspace. It is important to consider the impacted demand on the airspace that will incur increased demand when using this method.

Temporary Restricted Areas (TRA)

2.31 Temporary restricted areas (TRAs) are used when staff shortages necessitate the closure of airspace. A TRA is declared for which permission is required to enter. Once established within the TRA, TIBA procedures may apply.

2.32 The procedure has some advantages in that the number of aircraft operating in airspace for which no air traffic control service is provided can be restricted. However, the use of novel procedures has resulted in significant confusion for both pilots and air traffic controllers.

Conclusions

3.1 There are many varied reasons for the global staffing crisis in Air Traffic Control. One theme seems to exist among most ANSPs that cutting costs on staffing is introducing unnecessary risk into the system and defying recent human performance studies and existing recommendations. Cutting costs often leads to reduced productivity and increased risk.

3.2 MAs are encouraged to engage their respective ANSPs in dialogue aimed at reassessing and firmly calculating safe, modern and correct ATCO staffing numbers. When determining correct staffing numbers, MAs in agreement with their ANSPs should integrate adequate staffing numbers with consideration of attrition. MAs should use IFATCA data to recommend the implementation of fatigue mitigation strategies in their respective air traffic systems.

3.3 MAs should pursue strategies aimed at clearly defining staffing requirements and minimum service levels. ANSPs need to invest in the most valuable component of the global air traffic control system: the people who run it globally, every day.

3.4 When faced with an unavoidable staffing shortage, MAs should work together with their respective ANSPs to develop a mitigation plan restricting the traffic flow through the affected areas.

Recommendations

4.1 It is recommended that the IFATCA Policy WC 10.3.6 STAFFING:

Be replaced with the following:

IFATCA strongly recommends that MAs establish a specific task force to work with the employer to identify and achieve the required staffing targets for each individual facility. These minimum staffing levels must take into consideration the following:

1. Human Performance and Fatigue Excessive (no planned overtime shall be used).
2. Minimum staffing number considers only current credentialed ATCOs-Uncredentialled trainees or disqualified ATCOs shall not be taken into account.
3. Staff for normal operations including proper staff relief and provision for unforeseen circumstances and/or events.
4. Forecast ATCOs retirement

References

EUROCONTROLTV, E. (2022, October 6). EUROCONTROL Conference “Where to next for European Aviation?”. YouTube. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO9yYe5rEb0

Scarr, S., Kawoosa, V. M., Chowdhury, J., & Sharma, M. (2022, March 4). Unfriendly skies. Reuters. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/AIRLINES/klpykbmropg/

Stoddard, M., & Sweeney, S. (2022, August 10). FAA gets more than 57,000 applicants for air traffic control jobs. ABC News. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/faa-57000-applicants-air-traffic-control-jobs/story?id=88201145

Shepardson, D. (2022, July 26). U.S. Air Controller Union chief says FAA Staffing not keeping up. Reuters. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-air-controller-union-chief-says-faa-staffing-not-keeping-up-2022-07-26/

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Go to: https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/eurocontrol-think-paper-19-atc-mobility-and-capacity-shortfalls

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IATA, CANSO, IFATCA, IFALPA. (2021). Bulletin 1 mitigating human factors hazards in the context of … – IFATCA. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from https://www.ifatca.org/wp-content/uploads/bulletin-1-mitigating-human-factors-hazards.pdf

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IFATCA. (n.d.). Staff shortage survey – EUR region. IFATCA. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://www.ifatca.org/staff-shortage-survey-eur-region/