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Author Topic: All air traffic controllers resign at San Carlos Airport  (Read 176 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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All air traffic controllers resign at San Carlos Airport
« on: January 31, 2025, 10:57:10 UTC »
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/puts-us-in-limbo-all-air-traffic-controllers-resign-at-hugely-important-airport/ar-AA1y9MDV?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=0529f3342fd741e3b6ad1aed9e984b0a&ei=14

One California airport is now without any air traffic controllers, and it's unclear when the airport will be able to replace them.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday that beginning this weekend, the San Carlos Airport, which lies along the final approach to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), will no longer have anyone manning its control tower. The resignations came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reassigned controllers' contracts to a firm that pays less.  Airport manager Gretchen Kelly said "understandably, all current controllers have declined [the firm's new] offers." The proposed compensation packages for air traffic controllers reportedly did not account for the Bay Area having the highest cost of living in the nation, which is roughly 18% higher than the national average. The region has had the highest cost of living in the U.S. for six consecutive years, with the San Jose and Napa areas close behind.


San Carlos Flight Center owner Alessandro Franco said air traffic control at the airport is "hugely important" due to its proximity to SFO and its typically busy airspace. Aircraft approaching the San Carlos Airport alternates between communicating with air traffic controllers at San Carlos and those at SFO. Now, he's worried the resignation of controllers will mean there is "another layer of safety that’s not going to be present."  "We’re a mile or two off the final approaches to SFO — it’s a complex space," Franco told the Chronicle. "This is a situation that puts us in limbo next to these busy airports."

Kelly has asked the FAA for additional staffing help for the San Carlos control tower, but her request was refused. Other airports in California are dealing with chronic shortages of air traffic controllers, which has become a worsening problem over the years. The Chico Airport, which the Chronicle noted was a "hub" for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now has just one controller.