More than 90% of the country's airport traffic control towers, including Pittsburgh International Airport, are understaffed according to analysis of FAA data. The Federal Aviation Administration data shows that at the time of the report,

The basic problem, which reformers have been trying to remedy since the Clinton administration, is that the system is operated by a cumbersome federal bureaucracy—the same bureaucracy that’s also responsible for overseeing air safety. The FAA is supposed to be a watchdog, but we’ve put it in charge of watching itself.

The new secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, appeared to walk back an enticement to retire, saying F.A.A. safety workers were exempt from the offer for federal workers.

Some major US airports had less than 60% of their staffing targets filled with fully certified controllers in recent years, CNN review finds

The staffing numbers from 2023, the most recent year made available by the Federal Aviation Administration, show the airport is above the staffing standard and just below the optimal staffing level.

Air controller Tyler Casper controls the taxi ways from the 150-foot control tower in 2008. Last week’s mid-air collision highlighted the air traffic controller shortage but FAA documents show Sacramento’s staffing is above its “staffing standards target.”

The most recent FAA data show that CVG’s control tower exceeded the agency’s staffing target, but union officials say it's not enough.

The air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport may have been understaffed the night of the collision between an incoming flight and an Army helicopter.