Fly Us Safe Campaign
Air Traffic Controllers Have Saved Hundreds of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars

While the FAA wastes billions of taxpayer dollars on ineffective systems, air traffic controllers have been playing a vital role in achieving cost savings. Contrary to FAA claims, air traffic controllers have streamlined budgets and saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. As part of the last contract negotiated with the FAA, air traffic controllers have taken the lead on a host of cost savings initiatives.

Only two years ago, the FAA itself was bragging about the significant cost savings air traffic controllers gave the FAA – $40 million over the course of two years.¹ That is on top of the findings from a joint NATCA/FAA team that studied the first 3 years of the 5 year contract and found savings of hundreds of millions of dollars through increased productivity and efficiency². As the GAO Director of Civil Aviation Issues, Gerald Dillingham, told the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee in 2003, it will take five to six years to see the fruits of the 1998 contract.³ So, just as major costs savings were coming to light, the FAA dissolved the vital program which was measuring them.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to measure just how much air traffic controllers are saving the American taxpayer because the FAA has terminated a collaborative program that provided hard numbers to measure cost savings.

Cost savings from the 1998 agreements exceeded initial expectations. They included the following initiatives:

• Air traffic controllers agreed to take on additional duties normally performed by other FAA employees. Air traffic controllers agreed to use their break times to perform air safety planning and review functions, which saved taxpayers $28 million in 2002 alone.
• The 1998 agreement expanded the Controller in Charge program to increase the controller-to-supervisor ratio without impacting the safety of air traffic operations. The CIC program produced a net cost savings of $10.1 million in FY2000 and $27.1 million in FY01.
• NATCA led the way in streamlining the system for allowing air traffic controllers to move stations, reducing the cost to the government by 70%. Over the first three years of the agreement, the new system has resulted in a savings of $17 million.
• The 1998 agreement provides for staffing levels for bargaining unit employees, support specialists and operations. Over the first three years of the agreement, these ceilings produced cost offsets amounting to $165.8 million.
• A number of the 1998 agreement provisions designed to increase productivity and/or produce savings have resulted in significant cost savings to the aviation industry. For example, Article 48 formalized the process for air traffic controller participation in National Airspace System activities. The motivation for involving users as part of every new technological development is simple. It saves money, reduces schedule delay, and increases the likelihood of success.
• In the first five years of the contract, the FAA was able to deploy more new technology faster than it had in the previous two decades.