Page 27 - Control Towers News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

We have stepped up and add more staff and i believe we personally, this is outrageous situation that will not stand on my watch. >>shepard: the f.a.a. announced they would beef up overnight staffing at two dozen control towers but some critics say that is not good enough. and now to washington, dc, secretary lahood spoke of the speaking controllers. >> this is in arlington, virginia, and the secretary said he asked the f.a.a. administration and the heads of the air traffic controllers union to visit air traffic control tower nationwide starting next week, in atlanta, and "traveling west." here...

The control towers. there is over 15,000 controllers, chris and we received e-mails from them over the last few days. they are also very concerned about this and also concerned about their good name. and they want to make sure that safety is number one and they have people in the towers doing the right thing. they will be the ones in the towers. but they agreed to these three points that i just made, these three changes which are pretty significant changes. and if they are not quite right i guarantee there are further changes that need to be made. the seattle controller who fell asleep not onc...

Very important safety jobs that we have. we can make changes but when the controllers come to work they have to take personal responsibility for the fact that they are guiding planes in and out of airports and it to be done safely and they have to be well rested and alert and we will take care of the fact that they are well trained. they have to take some personal responsibility for this it. >> chris: you say you are prepared to announce what the changes you going to make are. what are they? >> number one we will make sure stat controllers are well rested and increase the rest time by an hour....

That controllers are alert, well rested, well trained, and they do take personal sport for theiresponsibility for their obligations to fly planes in and around airports. >> chris: you are sending them around, nationwide study, interview controllers, find out what the problem for criminal theproblem is. >> if the union and we -- if the union is part of the problem, why have them be part of the solution? why not have an in dependent study, disinterested parties go in and look and say here is what the problem is? >> look, chris, we have a contractual agreement with the union which language for fi...

Possible so that controllers are alert, well rested, well trained, and, they do take personal responsibility for their obligations to guide planes in and out of airports. >> chris: now, you just said you are sending the head of the faa and air traffic controllers union, to interview controllers and find out what the problems and if the union, as we have pointed out, these compressed schedules to get long weekends off, if the union is part of the problem, why have them be part of the solution? why not have an independent study, disinterested parties look and say and here is what the problem is?...