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FAA acknowledges staffing gaps and telecom issue; says president was never in danger
Summary
Officials said some facilities experienced 40–60% controller callouts during a recent weather event, that the FAA and Marine One teams elevated a telecom problem now being addressed, and that the president was never in danger during the incident.
Reporters asked how new technology will offset staffing shortages evident during a recent weather event. The Secretary said some facilities experienced a 40–60% callout rate and that the agency is hiring aggressively — citing earlier figures that varied between speakers — to close gaps. "We had... depending on what facility you look at, we had a 40 to 60% call out rate for our controllers," the Secretary said.
On a separate safety question about a Marine One loss-of-separation report, the Secretary said agency and Marine One telecom issues had been elevated and that "the president was never in any danger." He added the FAA has prohibited routine helicopter cross-traffic with airplanes in complex airspaces except for presidential or first-responder movements and said teams are working on a telecom fix.
