NATCA Statement on Air Traffic Controller Furlough Situation – (4/19/2013)

CONTACT: Doug Church, 301-346-8245

STATEMENT – NATCA PRESIDENT PAUL RINALDI

“With just days to go before air traffic controllers are forced off the job by furloughs imposed in the wake of sequester, the Federal Aviation Administration is echoing what NATCA has been saying for months – these cuts will needlessly disrupt and diminish the capacity of the world’s safest, most efficient national airspace system. No one wants to see these furloughs be implemented, least of all the controllers who want to be on the job, making the system work. We continue to urge policymakers in Congress and the Administration to resolve this issue and keep controllers on the job. 

“Our nation’s aviation system should never have been allowed to be turned into the political football that it has become. In any other circumstance, our work is considered essential. It should be now as well. We believe the FAA should consider postponing these furloughs just as they did the tower closures in order to work toward a solution that keeps controllers on the job and the American aviation system operating at full capacity.”