ATC News

Wall Street Journal

High activity

FAA and controllers’ union agree to 2.8% pay raise tied to workforce changes

The FAA and the union representing U.S. air traffic controllers reached an agreement granting workers a long-delayed 2.8% pay increase in exchange for workforce changes intended to improve efficiency. The deal targets a practice of controllers leaving work early that drew scrutiny after a deadly crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fortune

Italy restores full air traffic capacity after network failure halved operations

Italy’s air navigation provider ENAV said air traffic capacity was fully restored Friday after an overnight failure in the data transmission network supporting air traffic control services nationwide. The disruption cut capacity by half and led to widespread flight disruption, with Cirium counting 192 cancellations by noon.

avweb.com

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FAA weighs equity stake in Air Space Intelligence as lawmakers scrutinize AI air traffic system

The FAA is negotiating a potential ownership stake in Air Space Intelligence, developer of its Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories system. House Democrats are raising safety and oversight concerns about the agency’s use of AI, alongside a shortage of air traffic controllers, and are calling for a review.

Reuters

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ENAV data-network failure cuts Italian air traffic capacity by half; satellite backup restores it to 75%

An overnight failure in the data transmission network supporting air traffic control across Italy forced ENAV to halve traffic capacity. A satellite backup network raised capacity to 75% by midday, but cancellations at Rome Fiumicino and delays of up to four hours at Lamezia Terme persisted; ENAV ruled out a cyberattack.

The Air Current

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Conflict compresses hundreds of daily flights into an 85-nautical-mile airspace corridor

Repeated Houthi missile strikes on Riyadh International Airport are underscoring the risks to a narrow airspace corridor carrying hundreds of daily transcontinental flights. With instability spreading across Europe and the Middle East, the 85-nautical-mile-wide sliver has become a critical vulnerability for global aviation.

Flying Magazine

High activity

FAA controller Marcus Miller explains training pathways, attrition and pay

In episode five of “Aviation Start,” FAA center controller Marcus Miller—known online as PropHatCat—explains CTI and Enhanced CTI routes into air traffic control, the Academy washout rate, contract towers and controller earnings. The discussion lays out the different entry paths and employment settings for prospective controllers.

Flying Magazine

High activity

FAA to restore controller observation flights on commercial, general aviation and military aircraft

The FAA is bringing back a program that lets air traffic controllers ride along on commercial, general aviation and military flights. Controllers can observe cockpit procedures and pilot workload in real operating conditions; the program had been paused at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flying Magazine

High activity

House Democrats seek audit and pause of FAA’s AI-driven air traffic tool over safety concerns

Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are asking the GAO to review the FAA’s developmental air traffic management system and have urged the agency to pause its use until questions are answered. The tool analyzes schedules and factors such as weather to predict traffic flows; lawmakers warn it could produce inaccurate, safety-critical information.