Mere days after Trump gutted the FAA and one of the worst aviation disasters in over 20 years occurred in U.S. airspace, chaos could be looming at another airport on the West Coast. A Northern California airport will lose its air traffic controllers after workers and airport officials couldn’t come to an agreement over pay.
News outlets in San Francisco report that the tower at San Carlos Airport, a small airport in the flightpath of San Francisco International Airport, will be understaffed starting February 1. The reason is a dispute over a new contract that was negotiated with the FAA. This new contract didn’t include a cost of living increase for the workers. Because of that, the workers declined the contract. From The San Francisco Standard:
The crisis emerged after Robinson Aviation, or RVA, won the Federal Aviation Administration contract for the airport over longtime provider Serco but declined to match the $18,000 housing stipend controllers receive to offset Bay Area living costs. The FAA and RVA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“RVA offered a match for hourly pay but did not provide for a stipend for [housing],” said Davi Howard, San Mateo County airport spokesman and former air traffic controller. “The controllers turned down the offer.”
Airport officials issued a statement saying that while airport operations will continue normally, the tower will be understaffed. “The Airport, in collaboration with SCAPA and SCFC, has been in continuous communication with the FAA regarding the transition of air traffic service providers for the San Carlos Federal Contract Tower. This morning, we were informed by FAA Headquarters that the SQL tower will be unstaffed (ATC-Zero) starting Saturday, February 1st,” the statement reads. It’s not all bleak, though. Officials say there’s currently last minute negotiations between the two parties so that airport operations can resume normally. Just in case those negotiations fall through, officials say they “requested temporary staffing” from the FAA to cover the positions but were declined.
Things are serious, however, and it’s even gotten the attention of some local lawmakers. In a statement to NBC News, U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) said he’s on the side of the workers and that officials should account for the area’s high cost of living in salary negotiations. “It is well known that the San Francisco Bay Area has a high cost of living, and federal agencies need to account for regional differences when evaluating how to establish contracts for critical services,” said Mullin.