FAA's Air Traffic Controller Work Force
Gao ID: 130697 August 14, 1986GAO discussed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) method of reporting on its progress in rebuilding the air traffic controller work force. GAO found that FAA should: (1) revise its 1986 controller work force goal of 14,480 because it includes people who do not control traffic; (2) stop using the term operational controller as the key indicator of staffing progress, and use instead the number of full-performance-level controllers (FPL), since only FPL are actively engaged in controlling air traffic; and (3) establish a new controller work force staffing goal on the basis of valid staffing standards.