With summer upon us, flight delays because of the shortage of trained air traffic controllers show no sign of abating. Every region in the nation is struggling to fill these crucial seats to keep jets moving efficiently, quickly and safely.
There are several causes — these well-paying but demanding jobs require considerable skill, so they attract a rare breed of striver; hiring was paused during COVID; and our nation’s training system has a bottleneck — all aspiring air traffic controllers must attend the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City for several months.
And there is a major backlog there, with long waits for seats.
But did you know that one solution is right here, in the borough of Queens in East Elmhurst, right below the flight path to LaGuardia Airport?
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology has been training the next generation of aviation professionals — everyone from pilots to ground crew to, yes, air traffic controllers — for 93 years. We have a state-of-the-art, room-sized air traffic control simulator where students can cut their teeth landing virtual planes.
Now, Vaughn is one of just six schools around the nation that have been selected to provide enhanced air traffic control training as a “collegiate training institute.”
That is to say, our students, with some extra coursework and testing, will be able to bypass Oklahoma City and go straight to a tower to complete their training to become a certified professional controller.
We are hometown proud. And you should be, too. Right in the middle of the diverse borough of Queens, with students of all backgrounds joining us, we are a key player in pulling the nation out of this seemingly intractable transportation headache. This is an incredible honor, and an awesome responsibility.
So what will it look like, in real terms? What are the benefits (many) and drawbacks (a few) of this brave new world?
Details are still being finalized. But basically, two-year and four-year students pursuing a degree to become air traffic controllers will either incorporate new curriculum into their last semester, or in some cases spend an extra six months with us.
Students who come to Vaughn with a degree already in hand may need one year to finish the program.
All will undergo a rigorous performance evaluation in our simulator room, being trained and tested to the exact same standards used by the FAA Academy.
They’ll face all kinds of intense scenarios, situations they may never encounter even in long careers, but for which they need to be prepared. Has bad weather suddenly descended on your airport? Do you have 16 more planes stacked up for landing than you’d expected? Scenarios just like that.
For the final test, students will be watched by a former air traffic controller from the outside who has undergone further FAA training to evaluate performance. (Our people won’t do evaluations because they are worried that their personal fondness for each student could color their verdicts, which need to be stone-cold).
The students will be familiar with the scenarios, but they won’t know which one to expect for the final exam.
And if you fail? You are out. Period.
These exams usually take place in Oklahoma City. By doing them here at Vaughn, as well as other training, we are collapsing the time frame. Now students won’t need to wait a year or more to get a seat at the Academy. And if they pass our program, as I said, they go straight to a tower, where their training continues.
Yes, students will need to pay tuition at Vaughn, instead of being paid at the Academy. I know that’s a hurdle. But in the long run, they’ll be ahead of the game financially, because they’ll get in a tower sooner (a year or more), and that’s when the bigger salaries kick in.
In time, those extra months at Vaughn will more than pay for themselves. (And of course, we have all kinds of financial aid opportunities).
So that’s the story you might not have heard about how a local institution has stepped up to help solve a national crisis. Next time you are coming in for a landing at LaGuardia’s runway 04, and you are sitting on the right side of the plane, look down at Vaughn and be sure to give us a wave.
DeVivo is president of Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in East Elmhurst, Queens.
