The San Carlos Airport, a hub for Silicon Valley business travel that lies along the approach to San Francisco International Airport, will no longer have air traffic controllers guiding planes in and out of the airport starting on Saturday, according to airport manager Gretchen Kelly.
The airport’s controllers resigned, she said in a news release, after the Federal Aviation Administration changed air traffic control contracts to a firm with lower pay that does not take account of the region’s high cost of living.
“Understandably, all current controllers have declined (the new) offers,” according to Kelly, who said that the FAA denied a request to provide temporary staffing.
Controllers will work through Friday. Then the tower will be unmanned going forward — until a resolution is reached.
Rep. Kevin Mullin, a San Mateo Democrat, said that contract negotiations “have moved in a positive direction and a resolution is forthcoming."
Alessandro Franco, owner of San Carlos Flight Center, which is based at the airport, said air traffic control is “hugely important” because the air space is incredibly busy. That makes it an amazing place to learn to fly, he said.
“We’re a mile or two off the final approaches to SFO — it’s a complex space,” Franco said.
Flight students practice take offs and landings repeatedly to hone their skills so they are navigating passenger airliners coming in and out of SFO. San Carlos-bound pilots are in touch with SFO controllers to handle the mix of traffic, in addition to working with the San Carlos tower, which manages air space within a three-mile radius of the airport and up to 2,000 feet, according to Franco.
“This is a situation that puts us in limbo next to these busy airports,” Franco said.
San Carlos pilots will still have radar support available to manage air space when they are not taking off or landing, Franco said, but the removal of air traffic control is “another layer of safety that’s not going to be present.”
The San Carlos tower is among a group of air traffic towers managed by the FAA but not staffed with federal employees. Instead, the FAA relies on contracts with private companies. Franco said that has caused staffing issues in the past, in part because of the high cost of living in the Bay Area.
Other small airports in California are also coping with staffing issues following contract changes.
The Chico Airport, a hub for Cal Fire, will have just one air traffic controller going forward until more are hired, said airport manager Tom Bahr. The airport had three air traffic controllers, and only one agreed to continue with the new contract, he said. That will result in reduced hours during the week and no traffic control on weekends.
Bahr said that pilots communicate directly with other aircraft when no traffic control is available.
“We put a notice out to the pilots that they will have to communicate with each other,” Bahr said.
The new contractor, Oklahoma-based Robinson Aviation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SFO referred questions to the FAA, which was not immediately available to comment. The San Carlos Airport was also not immediately available to provide information beyond its press release.
San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller said he first learned about the issue Thursday morning and was alarmed. He said he has heard that the agency is working on an agreement between the contractor and San Carlos controllers to keep staff in the tower.
"The FAA needs to prioritize public safety over cost-saving measures,” Mueller said.
The news comes as the nation reels from the deadly crash Wednesday night of a military helicopter with an American Airlines passenger flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C.
The prior administrator of the FAA stepped down on January 20, the day of President Trump’s inauguration. At a news conference Thursday morning, Trump named a new acting administrator for the agency.
Comments
Post a Comment