The FAA’s chronic air traffic controller (ATC) shortage is well documented despite the agency’s efforts to ramp up hiring. A $40 million, 87,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Frederick, Maryland, could help it reallocate those sparse resources where they are needed most.
The FAA on Tuesday announced the groundbreaking of the new facility, which will build digital, internet-based voice switch systems designed to help controllers better communicate with pilots and other facilities. Per the agency’s website, one advantage of replacing aging, analog voice switches with modern systems will be “more dynamic operations,” such as reallocating controllers to different sectors without physically moving them.
