The Austin City Council approved a resolution at its July 24 meeting, seeking to establish Texas’ first air traffic controller academy as the city works to combat an ongoing staffing shortage at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA).
In the resolution, the city urges the Federal Aviation Administration to prioritize air traffic controller staffing at the airport. The resolution includes several components along with the academy, which Austin leaders said would be in partnership with Austin Community College.
The Austin airport is staffed at under 50%, according to resolution documents. On Oct. 16, 2024, an American Airlines Boeing 737, carrying 122 passengers and a Cessna 182, flew past each other less than 350 feet apart and narrowly avoided a mid-air collision. This incident is the most recent of five near misses at the airport in the past two years. According to resolution documents, the ABIA controller staffing shortage has led to FAA-mandated delays for scheduled flights, without notification to the city’s Department of Aviation. The number of air traffic controllers has decreased during the past year and certified controllers continue to leave AIBA at a rate outpacing the number of trainees eligible to become certified, according to city officials.
City and state leaders are advocating for improvements to resolve the shortage, however, the FAA is responsible for staffing air traffic control towers.
The council directed the city manager to collaborate with the FAA and ACC to explore participation in the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) and the establishment of an Air Traffic Controller Academy, with the goal of building a local workforce pipeline for air traffic controllers.
In late May, the FAA signed an agreement with Schenectady County Community College in New York to become the next school for the Enhanced AT-CTI in response to a national staffing shortage, according to a May release.
Federal officials encourage schools that are interested in the initiative to apply to become an Enhanced AT-CTI school, according to the release. Applications can be submitted year-round and this initiative could be a possible route for Austin to get an air traffic controller training facility.
The council urged the FAA to take immediate action to mitigate the dangers and delays caused by the staffing shortage. The council also requested the FAA to encourage air traffic controllers to transfer to ABIA and upgrade the airspace levels surrounding the airport to increase the protected airspace and reduce controller workload.
Image by Roland Mey from Pixabay
