FAA's Air Traffic Controller Work Force

GAO discussed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) method of reporting on its progress in rebuilding the air traffic controller work force. GAO found that FAA should: (1) revise its 1986 controller work force goal of 14,480 because it includes people who do not control traffic; (2) stop using the term operational controller as the key indicator of staffing progress, and use instead the number of full-performance-level controllers (FPL), since only FPL are actively engaged in controlling air traffic; and (3) establish a new controller work force staffing goal on the basis of valid staffing standards.