Lack of air traffic controls: Search the personnel levels of your airport

Newark, New Jersey (WABC) – Nobody knows that the fights behind the scenes at Newark Airport take place better than the retired flight set Colin Scoggins.

“It can be pretty stressful,” said Scoggins.

Over the course of three decades, he worked for many stressful events, including 9/11.

“The area of ​​New York is really a special area,” said Scoggins. “It can be stressful and intense,” he said.

The radar screens that control Nevark Airport went briefly, not only once, but twice in the past two weeks.

The FAA hurts to repair and update the computer system. However, the recent delays and cancellations are also due to a lack of air traffic controls. They are understaffed.

After the first failure, a handful of air traffic controls in medical holidays in Newark went out and called it a traumatic event.

According to Scoggins, controllers can work six days a week to fill the gaps.

“It begins to carry yourself when you do for 5 or 6 weeks in a row with just one day. Scoggins says her “eyes and ears” are everything. He said you will get several breaks all day.

In contrast to other jobs, air traffic managers are trained for working at a specific airport. It takes months to train someone in a new facility.

“If you have Newark and Laguardia and JFK, you are heavily processed on how to deal with your traffic so that you simply cannot jump from one facility to the next,” he said.

Eyewitness News mapped the towers across the country. There is a lack of controllers nationwide. More than half of the air traffic control towers have only 70% of their targeted personnel.

According to Scoggins, there has been a lack of controllers since the 1980s.

“You are now trying to catch up, you also seem to try to rent another 2,500 more, but if you set 2,500 more, 1,500 retirement and you are still short,” he said.

It is a long process to bring new controllers into the towers. All air traffic controls in the country must first go to school and then train in a center in Oklahoma City.

“At the moment it is a challenge to bring people to the career area,” said Aviation Professor Eric Jones. “It is often difficult to bring people through training, and I think it’s one of the biggest challenges we have,” said Jones.

He said that the entire training and practical experience is why flying is still the safest means of transport.

“The way the procedures are determined when they are understaffed will receive delays,” said Scoggins. “Nobody will take airplanes more than they can handle it,” he said.

The ABC data journalist Frank Esposito has contributed to this story.