Air Controllers Union Wants Naps

The Hill reports:

The leader of the national air traffic controllers union wants members to be allowed to schedule naps during night shifts.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Paul Rinaldi said the steps taken last week by the Federal Aviation Administration to address fatigue — including adding an extra hour to the time between air traffic controllers' shifts — were a good start. However, he said the changes "barely scratch the surface."

"The work of the joint NATCA-FAA fatigue workgroup over the past 18 months has produced 12 recommendations based on established scientific research and data and health practices," Rinaldi said in a statement issued over the weekend announcing the plan.

Rinaldi defended the proposal to allow supervised naps against critics who say air traffic controllers are not being paid to sleep on the job.

"There is nothing groundbreaking about these recommendations," Rinaldi said. "They are common sense solutions to a problem NATCA and fatigue experts have consistently raised for years while past Administrations turned a blind eye. The recommendations are based on advice from NASA and the military and in line with international air traffic control best practices. If we are serious about addressing controller fatigue, then every recommendation must be adopted and implemented."

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is one of the leading critics of the nap proposal.