Free Republic

When Obama was president, he abandoned the old system of hiring qualified air-traffic controllers who had a college degree in air-traffic control and/or were military veterans with aviation experience, because too many of these people were white males. Obama then replaced the old system with a new system that tried to achieve racial diversity by asking applicants how many different sports they had played when they were in high school.When Obama was president, the Federal Aviation Administration stopped giving preferential treatment to air-traffic controller applicants who had passed classes from the 36 FAA-approved college aviation programs across the U.S., because...

The air traffic controller on duty at the time of the deadly passenger plane-Black Hawk helicopter crash in Washington, DC, was doing the work of two people, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Staffing in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” ... Understaffing resulted in a controller pulling double duty — overseeing helicopters while also guiding arriving and departing planes on the busy airport’s runways, the report found. Those responsibilities are normally split between two controllers, ... The Biden-era report also highlighted the agency’s...

The Spanish government has said it will allow its military to take control of airspace if air traffic controllers do not return to work. The controllers staged an unofficial walkout over working hours, leaving passengers across the country facing huge disruption. The group called in sick en masse, closing down airspace over Spain - except the southern region of Andalucia. The government has called on controllers to resume work immediately or defence will assume control of the airspace. Airport operator AENA condemned the mass, coordinated action, saying it was an "intolerable" and "irresponsible" act which hit more than 200,000 passengers...

A BRITISH airport has advertised for an air traffic controller - and offered those interested an application pack in braille. The website for St Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly, off the southwest tip of England, says controllers need to be able to keep a close eye on the changeable weather as their work "is not over-dependent upon very costly and sophisticated electronic equipment". But applicants for the job could still ask for an application pack in large type, braille or audio format, newspapers said. A spokesman for the local council said the wording was included on all job...