Bellingham International Airport’s control tower is forced to limit hours of operation after the number of full-time air traffic controllers dropped from three to two this month.
The change highlights the challenge to properly staff tower operations throughout the U.S. The concerns grew after the deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter on Jan. 29 in Washington, D.C., and other recent aircraft crashes. The tower at BLI is staffed by Serco under a Federal Aviation Administration contract.
“Due to a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, BLI’s air traffic control tower has had to adjust its operational hours,” said Mike Hogan, the public affairs administrator for the port, which operates the airport.
Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, according to the Associated Press, and even major airports that used to have round-the-clock coverage with technicians no longer do.
Port staff are keeping the airport open 24/7 for both commercial and general aviation operations, Hogan said.
Air traffic controllers provide real-time coordination of aircraft, which enhances situational awareness and reduces the risk of conflicts, Hogan explained. Controllers are limited to 10-hour shifts and six consecutive days.
The Bellingham airport tower is closed on Tuesdays, as well as every fourth Wednesday of the month.
Impact on operations
Both Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air, the two commercial operators flying out of Bellingham, confirmed to CDN that their pilots are well-trained to operate in uncontrolled airspace and familiar with procedures for using Common Traffic Advisory Frequency.
“The change in staffing and hours of operation at the BLI control tower has not affected our operations,” Allegiant Communications Manager Andrew Porrello told CDN. “We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that safety and operational efficiency are maintained.”
When the tower is closed, pilots are required to announce their intentions to all pilots in the area through the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency. All pilots are trained to communicate in this way in uncontrolled airspace. However, that adds an additional task that can complicate situations, explained Lyle Jansma, a local pilot and the founder of Six Pack Aero, an aviation consulting company.
“Without an operating control tower, there is nobody to help deconflict air traffic,” Jansma said. “The general aviation community has to be more vigilant.”
Further compounding concerns in Bellingham is that the airport is exactly far enough away from flight schools in Everett for pilots to log their “cross-country” flights, resulting in a lot of inexperienced pilots entering Bellingham airspace, Jansma explained.
“It’s important for governmental agencies to consider getting the technology that we should be able to have so that we can have a better situational awareness, which will help with staffing issues,” Jansma said, noting that without radar the control tower is entirely reliant on pilots communicating their locations and a pair of binoculars.
Serco, a multinational corporation that staffs the BLI tower, did not respond to questions emailed to the company.
FAA under fire
The FAA, which is under fire by the Trump administration, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. About 400 FAA employees were terminated via late-night emails on Feb. 14.
“Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on social media platform X Monday night. He explained the move targeted probationary employees — those who were hired less than a year ago.
The administration has said no one at the FAA with a “critical safety” position has been fired as it cuts the federal workforce, but some FAA jobs that were eliminated had direct roles in supporting safety inspectors and airport operations, according to their union and former employees, AP reported Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Federal data shows that about 98% of airport towers nationally do not meet staffing levels recommended by the FAA and controllers’ union, according to an analysis by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The analysis did not include staffing numbers from Bellingham International Airport because it is an FAA contract tower.
It was determined that 20 of 26 critical facilities are staffed below the FAA’s threshold, according to a 2023 U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General report.
An FAA spokesperson told Axios before the Valentine’s Day firings that hiring more air traffic controllers is “a top priority.” The FAA narrowly exceeded its hiring goal of 1,500 controllers in fiscal year 2023, according to the agency’s 2024-2033 workforce plan.
But, it’s a long process to become a certified controller. After completing the required online training courses, applicants must attend the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City for several months. It can then take two to three years of additional training, including gaining on-the-job experience, before they are certified.
“We haven’t had enough air traffic controllers in America for a very long time,” Duffy told Fox News on Feb 2. “They are stressed out. They’re tapped out. They’re overworked. That’s no excuse. It’s just a reality of what we have in the system.”
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
