Bellingham International Airport has been able to gain a temporary air traffic controller with two more on their way, after having to limit air traffic control tower hours due to staffing shortages.
The air traffic control tower has been running on limited operations since February when the number of air traffic controllers dropped from three to two. As a result, the tower is closed on Tuesdays as well as every fourth Wednesday of the month, something referred to as ATC Zero.
The tower at BLI is staffed by Serco under a Federal Aviation Administration contract.
“We were not notified by the FAA regarding ATC Zero, this is something we found out secondhand,” said Matt Rodriguez, the airport operations manager, during a presentation to the Port of Bellingham Commission on Tuesday, March 4.
The temporary air traffic controller from Bend, Oregon, started at BLI on Monday, March 3, and is currently going through certification at the airport, Rodriguez said. A second temporary air traffic controller is expected to start at the beginning of April, while a third permanent air traffic controller will come on board a few weeks later on April 21.
But until the air traffic controller who started Monday is fully certified at BLI, the airport tower will continue to run on limited operations.
Rodriguez told commissioners his staff had sent a formal letter to the FAA about the staffing concerns at the tower and are having constant conversations with stakeholders, including Serco, about ways to minimize ATC Zero.
Air traffic controllers provide real-time coordination of aircraft, which enhances situational awareness and reduces the risk of conflicts. Controllers are limited to 10-hour shifts and six consecutive days.
When the tower is closed, pilots are required to announce their intentions to all pilots in the area through the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency when in uncontrolled airspace. Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air, who frequently fly out of Bellingham, have pilots who are trained in Common Traffic Advisory Frequency and use it in their operations when the tower is closed, according to earlier reporting.
However, Lyle Jansma, a local pilot and the founder of Six Pack Aero, told Cascadia Daily News in February that requiring pilots to use Common Traffic Advisory Frequency can complicate situations.
“Without an operating control tower, there is nobody to help deconflict air traffic,” Jansma said. “The general aviation community has to be more vigilant.”
The number of qualified air traffic controllers has been in decline for years, Rodriguez said. Reasons include the difficulty level of the FAA training academy, the length of on-the-job training and mandatory retirement rules.
Even before the plane-helicopter collision that killed 67 people in January over Washington D.C., federal transportation officials were warning of the shortage of air traffic controllers across the nation, according to the Associated Press.
Rodriguez said Tuesday that the airport’s advocacy over the staffing situation at the control tower has had a direct impact in making sure they can staff the tower adequately and be better notified in the future when short staffing may become an issue.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
