AUSTIN, Texas — Air traffic controllers have their eyes in skies, making sure the airways are flowing smoothly, but we need more of them. 

“What we really need the most, though, are more personnel, more air traffic controllers,” said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.  

Doggett and the Federal Aviation Administration teamed up to get an advanced tower simulator at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The simulator, the first of its kind in the nation, aims to help improve controller training and increase safety as planes take off and land.

The hope is it would deter situations like the near miss that happened in Austin last February when a Southwest plane and FedEx Cargo Plane nearly collided. 

“Last year, we had a near catastrophe, a Southwest Airlines plane that was packed. We could have had over 100 deaths as a result of a near miss. And there were several other near misses that didn’t involve as many people but would have been equally catastrophic,” Doggett said. 

At ABIA, in 2023, there were at least three near misses. According to Doggett, ABIA has 42 fully trained traffic controllers, but should have more in the tower. 

“The other nine that we have are trainees. So hopefully we can get them better trained. But that’s not enough people. We really should have 50 or 60 air traffic controllers,” he said. 

In a statement to Spectrum News 1, the FAA said:

“One of FAA’s top priorities is hiring more air traffic controllers, one of the most highly specialized and skilled professions in the federal government. We hired 1,500 controllers last year, and we are working to hire 1,800 controllers this year.” 

“Well, the aviation industry as a whole is short, short of personnel,” said Larry Canion, an airplane program director at St. Phillips College in San Antonio.

He says simulators can help with the shortages and are the future of the aviation industry. 

“It’s important to look at the programs you have as far as the simulator systems going in. Simulators are, I think, the way of the future,” Canion continued. 

Other major airports like DFW and San Antonio are better staffed, but the need for air traffic controllers remains. 

“Getting more air traffic controllers is the key. That’s what I’ll be urging the FAA to continue to do,” Doggett said.  

By the end of 2025, the FAA plans on installing the tower simulator systems in 95 airports across the nation.