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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 123 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 nearly 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.

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Benefits

Time Is Running Out to Protect Your Income with Unum LTD.

NATCA members, now is the time to take action. Protect your income and secure your financial future with Unum long-term disability insurance. This benefit is available exclusively to NATCA members, giving you peace of mind no matter what life brings. Open season is only available through Dec. 8, so act now. Enroll at natcadisability.com.

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NATCA Benefits Partners with Beacon Realty for Exclusive Member Savings on Real Estate Services

NATCA Benefits is pleased to announce its partnership with Beacon Realty, offering members coordinated support for all real estate needs during relocation. Beacon Relocation’s services provide seamless management whether members are moving locally or across the country, along with the advantage of up to a 20% Realtor® discount through their network of Approved Realtor® Partners….

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Events

San Francisco Convention Planning Committee Meets with NATCA President Nick Daniels

Preparations are underway for NATCA’s 20th Biennial Convention to be held at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on May 9-11, 2025. In November, the Convention planning committee met with NATCA President Nick Daniels. Committee members walked Daniels through the plans for the logistics and program for the event. They discussed how they will be…

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Spotlight

Get To Know NATCA’s National Legislative Committee Chair David Skarphol

Relationship building is at the core of NATCA’s legislative activism. Earlier this year David Skarphol (Phoenix TRACON, P50) stepped up as the chair of NATCA’s National Legislative Committee (NLC), leading the team that coordinates and facilitates NATCA members’ legislative training and relationships with members of Congress. Today we take a moment to introduce Skarphol and…

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Aviation Facts

Fact: The United States aviation system is an economic driver, contributing 5.2 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product, and generating nearly 11 million jobs.

5,400

Aircraft in the sky at peak operational times

44,500,000,000

Pounds of freight moving through the National Airspace System each year

Current Traffic

Tracking 10,677 airborne aircraft with 636,859,278 total flights in the database. FlightAware has tracked 113,709 arrivals in the last 24 hours.

Aviation Acronyms

Learn acronyms used by safety professionals nationwide:

All A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
There are 40 acronyms in this directory beginning with the letter P.
Term
Definition
PABX
Private Automated Branch Exchange
PAD
Packet Assembler/Disassembler
PAL
Planning Activity Level
PAM
Peripheral Adapter Module
PAPI
Precision Approach Path Indicator
PAR
Precision Approach Radar
PATWAS
Pilots Automatic Telephone Weather Answering Service
PBB
Passenger Boarding Bridge
PBCT
Proposed Boundary Crossing Time
PBRF
Pilot Briefing
PBX
Private Branch Exchange
PCA
Positive Control Airspace
PCC
Portland Cement Concrete
PCM
Pulse Code Modulation
PDAR
Preferential Arrival And Departure Route
PDC
Pre-Departure Clearance
PDN
Public Data Network
PDR
Preferential Departure Route
PFC
Passenger Facility Charge
PGP
Planning Grant Program
PIC
Principal Interexchange Carrier
PIDP
Programmable Indicator Data Processor
PIREP
Pilot Weather Report
PMS
Program Management System
POLIC
Police Station
POP
Point Of Presence
POT
Point Of Termination
PPIMS
Personal Property Information Management System
PR
Primary Commercial Service Airport
PRI
Primary Rate Interface
PRM
Precision Runway Monitor
PSDN
Public Switched Data Network
PSN
Packet Switched Network
PSS
Packet Switched Service
PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network
PTC
Presumed-to-Conform
PUB
Publication
PUP
Principal User Processor
PVC
Permanent Virtual Circuit
PVD
Plan View Display

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