1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:10,319 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. I'm Stephen Carroll, and 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: this is Here's Why, where we take one news story 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: and explain it in just a few minutes with our 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: experts here at Bloomberg. I don't want to travel in 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: the air. I mean, this is part of the problem. 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: We just had the worst crash since two thousand and 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: nine on January twenty ninth over DC airspace. It seems 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: like we are seeing more and more air crashes. 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 2: I think we are seeing more operations that aren't going 10 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 2: as they should. 11 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 3: It feels like a miracle that these people were able 12 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 3: to leave this plane and there was no fatalities. 13 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: It's been a difficult few months for the aviation industry. 14 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: A space of midair incidents, botched landings, and near misses 15 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: has brought safety concerns to the four Flying is still 16 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: one of the safest modes of transports, with far fewer 17 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: deaths per passenger mild than travel by car, ferry or train, 18 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: but events like the mid air collision over Washington, DC 19 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: in January have prompted Donald Trump, among others, to promise action. 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 3: My administration will set the highest possible bar for aviation safety. 21 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 3: We have to have our smartest people. It doesn't matter 22 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 3: what they look like, how they speak, who they are 23 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 3: matters intellect, talent the word talent. They have to be talented, 24 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 3: naturally talented geniuses. 25 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: Experts have voiced concerns that air traffic control staffing may 26 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: have played a role in the Washington crash, and it 27 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: reflects a wider problem in the industry around the world. 28 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: Here's why there's a shortage of air traffic controllers. Our 29 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: transport reporter Danny Lee joins me now for more. Danny, 30 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: First of all, how widespread is this shortage? 31 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 2: Stephen? Virtually in every corner of the world, there is 32 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 2: a shortage of air traffic controllers. In the United States, 33 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 2: the short full stands at three thousand, five hundred air 34 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 2: traffic controllers, and that's with almost eleven thousand already on duty. 35 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 2: In Europe, that number is closer to two thousand out 36 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 2: of nineteen thives in the ranks at the moment. So 37 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 2: the numbers don't lie when you look closer at the 38 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 2: decline of air traffic controllers employed around the world, and 39 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 2: in a snapshot of some major countries that we've taken 40 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 2: a look at. So that's the UK the US, Germany, France, 41 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 2: and Spain. These are some of the big countries with 42 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 2: airtraf controllers and have a lot of airflight activity. Since 43 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 2: twenty eleven, that number has actually fallen in terms of 44 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 2: headcount or just not grow at all, and that data 45 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 2: is remarkable against the backdrop of there may have been 46 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 2: advancements in technology to improve the efficiency of the role 47 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 2: of an aircraft controller, but the pace and the growth 48 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 2: of air travel overtime has made the role of an 49 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 2: aircraft controller busier than ever, and especially dealing with perhaps 50 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 2: a more global complex environment, whether it be related to 51 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 2: the climate or geopolitics. So clearly, for the role of 52 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 2: an aircraft controller day to day, they have to navigate 53 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 2: a whole list of issues that crop up, and it's 54 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,399 Speaker 2: not getting any easier when the growth of aircraft has 55 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 2: been going up and up and up. 56 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 1: So then what practical effects does a shortage of air 57 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: traffic controllers have on those of us that want to 58 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: get on planes. 59 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 2: There are more delays, frankly, that air passengers face if 60 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 2: there are just not enough air traffic controllers on duty. 61 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 2: In some extreme cases we have seen in the places 62 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 2: like the United States, airports such as Newark and New 63 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 2: Jersey airlines have being forced to cut back on on 64 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 2: their flight schedules during some of the peak travel periods 65 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 2: because there are just not enough air traff controllers to 66 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 2: handle the volumes of planes wishing to come in and 67 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 2: out of that airport. And that is mirrored when you 68 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 2: look at other partstored particularly in Europe, where there have 69 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 2: been warnings over recent years that during the peak summer 70 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 2: period they just will not have enough manpower in order 71 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 2: to cope with the volumes of traffic that there is. 72 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 2: So clearly there is a growing problem and with the 73 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: number of air traffic controllers employed, there is a challenge 74 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 2: there on how to cope with that growth aviation and 75 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 2: their travel. 76 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: Does it have consequences for safety? 77 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 2: I think there is a concern, a lingering concern that 78 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 2: with the most recent accent that took place in Washington, 79 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 2: DC that brought into question the role of air traffic 80 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 2: controllers and the shortage that were there was at the 81 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 2: time that this accent could happen again if people are 82 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,840 Speaker 2: not careful. And in the United States there has been 83 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 2: an increase in concern of the shortfall of air traffic 84 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 2: controllers and the likes of the Trump administration now trying 85 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 2: to take action to boost the number of staff on 86 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 2: duty and to improve the aviation infrastructure as a whole. 87 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 2: And clearly safety is paramount in aviation, and so a 88 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 2: lot of concern around the world about can the aviation 89 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 2: industry cope with the levels of growth and with some 90 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 2: parts of the system actually breaking down like that. 91 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: What are the important reasons behind there being a shortage 92 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: in this particular role of air traffic controls. 93 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 2: Well, during COVID there was an increasing number of staff 94 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 2: that had retired from from the various organizations that manage 95 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 2: the industry, and on top of that, there was not 96 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 2: enough training put in in order to allow the number 97 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 2: of people who were retiring to be replaced. And one 98 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 2: of the more challenging things for these authorities was the 99 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 2: fact that when you are socially distant, you cannot train 100 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 2: in close quarters. So training stopped. A lot of the 101 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 2: priorities at the same time were shifting focus, particularly as 102 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 2: air traffic demand collapsed, and so we have seen this 103 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 2: this backlog of training that has not been taking place, 104 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 2: and only now in the recent several months, and so 105 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 2: there has been an improvement in terms of backfilling these roles, 106 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 2: but still we have a long way to go, particularly 107 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 2: in the likes of the United States, where they have 108 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 2: seen a huge understaffing in some of its major air 109 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,359 Speaker 2: traffic control centers and so there's a lot of catchup 110 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 2: going on. But it takes years, up to free years 111 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 2: in some cases for air traffic controllers to be trained properly, 112 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 2: and so this is not a quick fix when you 113 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 2: think about the training, because there is a multi stage 114 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 2: process along the way. 115 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: Okay, our transport reporter Danny Lee, thank you. For more 116 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: explanations like this from our team of three thousand journalists 117 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: and analysts around the world, go to bloomberg dot com 118 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: slash explainers. I'm Stephen Carroll. This is here's why. I'll 119 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: be back next week with more. Thanks for listening.