FAA Introduces Scheduling Overhaul

The Federal Aviation Administration introduced new rules for air traffic controllers in response tot he recent outbreak of late night snoozing that’s plagued tower controllers. 

The new rules would increase the current 8-hour mandatory time between shifts to 9 hours. Official hope that the one0-hour increase will give employees adequate rest before taking a midnight shift. 

“More rest time, more managers on duty and making sure that controllers are not looking out for their own schedule rather than the safety schedule that we think needs to be put in place,” Transportation Seceratary Ray LaHood said in a CBS interview. 

New rules would also prohibit air tradffic controllers from working a midnight shift on the same day as a day shift, a routine commonly used to set up three-day weekends. 

Suggestions to dedicate two and a half hours to “nap” time to battle the occurrences of fatigue were shot down by LaHood. The Transportation Secretary said “we’lre not going to be paying for controllers to be napping.”