(NewsNation) — The Federal Aviation Administration is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, increasing pressure on airports, flights, workers and passengers.
The strain on the air traffic control system has been especially evident at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, which experienced delays and cancellations after several tech outages in May.
But the burn has been felt nationwide.
According to FAA data, Denver is short 47 air traffic controllers, Jacksonville, Florida, is short 31 and northern California is short 34.
Overall, agency records showed nearly half of the FAA’s air traffic facilities are below target staffing levels.
However, the staffing issues are not evenly distributed. Some have double-digit disparities, but most are missing five workers or fewer.
In St. Louis, both its Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, facility and its tower have at least three more staffers than the goal.
On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said safety is the agency’s “top priority.”
If staffing is too low, he said the FAA reduces flight traffic and clears fewer planes for takeoff or landing in a given airspace.
But that means more ground stops, more passengers waiting and more burnout for the controllers on duty.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has admitted industry changes are needed.
“We still do things in the way we did them 50, literally 50, 60 years ago,” Kirby said. “And technology can make that better. Technology, correct staffing and facilities. We have facilities that are 60 years old.”
The FAA is working to fix staffing issues by hiring new recruits, streamlining training and offering bonuses.
However, it takes two to three years to fully train a controller, especially for complex airspace like New York or Washington, D.C.
Duffy told NewsNation in an exclusive interview that air travel is safe and efficient — even at struggling facilities like Newark.
“On average, there were about 50 to 54 flights departing an hour in Newark,” said Duffy. “We’re now down to 28. The runway is going to come back online in Newark by June 15, and we’ll go up to 34, so we’re still slow. But the key now is that if you book your flight, you’re going to fly, you’re not going to sit and be delayed for four hours like we saw when we had the outage.”
NewsNation’s Anna Kutz contributed to this report.