Agency’s Strong-Arm Tactics Sends Wrong Message to Employees
WASHINGTON, DC—The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) outrageous decision on June 10 to unilaterally impose contract terms on several National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) bargaining units continues to stir outrage within the aviation community and among other FAA employees.
WASHINGTON, DC—At approximately 10:00 AM on Thursday, June 16, the failure of an air conditioning unit forced the closure of a facility that houses a radar system at Grand Rapids’ Gerald R. Ford International Airport. The loss of the primary radar system forced the use of a backup radar system, which reduced functionality and slowed down air traffic. The incident has highlighted concerns about both the causes and impact of such a serious problem.
WASHINGTON, DC - Last week, radar screens went blank and radio communications were briefly lost as routine maintenance was performed at Boston Consolidated TRACON (BCT). The outage resulted in numerous delays and cancellations and has raised serious concerns among the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), the union that represents Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technicians.
WASHINGTON, DC—A critical vote in the U.S. House of Representatives is set for Thursday on an amendment that would prevent the closure of 38 flight service stations.
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the House of Representatives passed a key amendment that prohibits the privatization of 58 flight service stations and the ultimate closing of 38 of these facilities. The Sanders-Hostettler-Herseth-LoBiondo-DeLauro-Shays amendment (to HR 3058, the House Transportation, Treasury, HUD, Judiciary, and District of Columbiaappropriations bill)passed 238 to 177.
17-Hour Outage Should Have Been Fixed Immediately
WASHINGTON, DC - A 17-hour outage of the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), the air traffic control system used in managing terminal airspace, at Syracuse’s Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility over the Fourth of July weekend raised concerns among aviation technicians regarding the impact of staffing shortages on aviation safety.
