By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it had struck a deal with an employee union to ensure that air-traffic controllers receive additional rest as the agency deals with a staffing shortage.
Under current rules, controllers handling active airplanes must get an eight- or nine-hour break between shifts in most instances.
The FAA said controllers will receive 10 hours off duty between shifts and 12 hours off before and after midnight shifts when the new rules take effect with 2025 schedules to be negotiated under the deal with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Controllers will have limits on the number of consecutive overtime assignments.
The FAA delayed in May those rules that had been set to take effect in mid-July, due to discussions between the FAA and NATCA.
"The science is clear that controller fatigue is a public-safety issue, and it must be addressed," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said.
Whitaker commissioned an independent panel last year to assess controller fatigue, which in April called for mandatory rest periods after raising "serious concerns."
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened investigations into a half dozen near-miss incidents since January 2023 that raised concerns about aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control.
NATCA President Rich Santa said the union has expressed concerns about controller fatigue for years.
"We are happy to join with the FAA to implement changes that will begin to provide relief to this understaffed workforce," he said.
At several facilities, controllers work mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover shortages. The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets and the agency said last year it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as a year earlier.
The FAA said in June it was extending cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2025, saying the number of controllers handling traffic in New York is insufficient for normal traffic levels and that without more flexibility, congestion, delays, and cancellations are likely.
President Joe Biden has sought funding to hire 2,000 controllers this year.