NATCA SUPPORTS THE SAFE OPERATION OF SHARED AIRSPACE ACT OF 2025
WASHINGTON – The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) strongly supports the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025, which was introduced last week by Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Maria Cantwell (Wash.) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), along with original co-sponsors Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Mark Warner (Va.), and Ed Markey (Mass.). This bill would strengthen aviation safety in and around the airspace of Washington National Airport (DCA), as well as across the National Airspace System (NAS).
“NATCA strongly supports the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 and thanks Ranking Members Cantwell and Duckworth for their continued leadership as tireless champions for aviation safety,” said NATCA President Nick Daniels. “We are especially grateful for the bill’s five-year extension of the air traffic controller maximum hiring requirement in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 through 2033. It also improves the controller hiring pipeline by codifying the FAA’s Enhanced Collegiate Training Initiative program while continuing to maintain the same high standards that exist today. The controller staffing crisis did not happen overnight, and it will take a persistent, holistic approach to overcome over the next decade.”
“This bill also takes several critical steps toward improving aviation safety in and around our nation’s capital, through enhanced safety reviews of the risks associated with military aircraft operations around DCA, as well as improved safety information sharing between the FAA and Department of Defense,” added President Daniels. “These proposals will reduce risk in the system. NATCA believes they should be adopted quickly and sent to the president for signature. We look forward to working with the Senate Commerce Committee, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the Federal Aviation Administration, and industry stakeholders on our shared goals to improve controller staffing, modernize air traffic control technology and physical infrastructure, and enhance aviation safety.”
MORE INFORMATION:
Galen Munroe, Deputy Director of Public Affairs; 202-220-9802, [email protected].
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is a labor union and aviation safety organization in the United States that represents nearly 20,000 highly skilled air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation safety-related professionals. NATCA was certified in 1987 by the Federal Labor Relations Authority to be the exclusive bargaining representative for air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Today, NATCA is one of the strongest labor unions in the federal sector and represents a range of aviation safety professionals in 15 FAA bargaining units, five Department of Defense air traffic facilities, and 171 federal contract towers. These air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals make vital contributions to the U.S. economy and make modern life possible by coordinating the safe, orderly, and expeditious movement of one billion aviation passengers and millions of tons of freight within the National Airspace System each year. NATCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
