But that was a time when there was significantly less air travel and less ATCs than we have and need now.
This actually isn’t true, at least the “have” part.
There were ~14k ATC controllers employed before the Reagan strike. There are currently ~10,600 controllers. The required staffing level to fully staff all 313 facilities is ~14,600.
Interesting those numbers have largely not changed in 40 years. Honestly I was guessing that we needed way more ATCs since the strike because air traffic has increased so much since then. Do you happen to know why the need for ATCs hasn’t really changed?
This actually isn’t true, at least the “have” part.
There were ~14k ATC controllers employed before the Reagan strike. There are currently ~10,600 controllers. The required staffing level to fully staff all 313 facilities is ~14,600.
Interesting those numbers have largely not changed in 40 years. Honestly I was guessing that we needed way more ATCs since the strike because air traffic has increased so much since then. Do you happen to know why the need for ATCs hasn’t really changed?
GPS, modern navigation and logistics technology is the biggest reason.
there apparently is less now, 4000 down from before.