FAA warns that staffing shortage will delay flights in NYC

When I worked as an Air Traffic Controller from 1985-2014, the facilities I worked at where short staff, but not as bad as other parts of the country. The FAA has been understaffed since Reagan fired controllers back in 1981. FAA wide I don’t think we ever got above 75-80%, with some place around 60% staffed. I would guess that shutting down the training for 2 years for Covid didn’t help, since most controllers in Air Route Centers take about 3 years to train.

I hear this everywhere.