FAA, Air Traffic Controllers’ Talks Stall

A difference of $500 million has led to the collapse of contract talks between air traffic controllers and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The dispute now goes to Congress, which has 60 days to mediate, and if it fails, the FAA is free to impose the terms of its proposal, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

During nine months of negotiations, the FAA proposed nearly $1.9 billion in savings over five years, while the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it could go no higher than $1.4 billion.

FAA administrator Marion Blakey said under the agency’s proposal, the average pay and benefits package for controllers would rise from about $166,000 annually to $187,000 by the end of the FAA’s proposed five-year contract.

However, it would phase out controller incentive pay, which goes to controllers who take jobs in hard-to-staff facilities, and would abolish a 10 percent differential for controllers who take on supervisory duties. It also would reduce starting salaries for newly hired controllers by 30 percent compared with the current pay scale.