Mapped: Every Understaffed Air Traffic Control Tower in the U.S.

Pallavi Rao
2025-05-29 14:22:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Mapped: Every Understaffed U.S. Air Traffic Control Tower

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

128 FAA-operated air traffic control towers are short-staffed.
Rochester Tower, located in Minnesota has less than half the required controllers per 2024 requirements.

Earlier this year, the U.S. experienced one of its deadliest air mishaps in two decades.

An American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter sending both into the Potomac River.

For reference: American Airlines has one of the worst track-records when it comes to crashes.

In the immediate aftermath, officials mentioned that short-staffed air traffic control towers may have played a role. This was later deemed not the cause, but air traffic control staffing shortages are plaguing 44% of all FAA regulated towers, latest data shows.

We map out every single tower that is below the 2024-guideline staffing threshold (85%) per the latest available data current to September 2023, published by the FAA.

Ranked: All Short-Staffed Air Traffic Control Towers

128 of the 290 FAA-operated air traffic control towers across the country are short-staffed.

Rochester Tower, located in Minnesota has less than half the required controllers per 2024 requirements.

The table below lists all facilities by the percentage of staff filled.

Rank	Facility	Facility Code	% Staffed
1	Rochester Tower	RST	47.8
2	Waterloo Tower	ALO	56.5
3	Morristown Tower	MMU	57.9
4	Pasco Tower	PSC	58.8
5	Oakland Tower	OAK	60.0
6	North Las Vegas Tower	VGT	60.0
7	Scottsdale Tower	SDL	62.5
8	Memphis TRACON	M03	63.4
9	Grand Canyon Tower	GCN	64.3
10	Traverse City Tower	TVC	64.3
11	Terre Haute /Hulman Tower	HUF	65.5
12	Rockford Tower	RFD	65.6
13	Falcon Field Tower	FFZ	66.7
14	Grand Forks Tower	GFK	66.7
15	Huntington Tower	HTS	66.7
16	Las Vegas TRACON	L30	67.9
17	Andrews Tower	ADW	68.2
18	Centennial Tower	APA	69.2
19	Fargo Tower	FAR	69.2
20	Green Bay Tower	GRB	69.2
21	Lubbock Tower	LBB	69.2
22	Milwaukee Tower	MKE	69.4
23	Willow Run Tower	YIP	69.6
24	Austin Tower	AUS	70.0
25	Rochester Tower	ROC	70.3
26	Tallahassee Tower	TLH	70.8
27	Charleston Tower	CRW	71.0
28	Allegheny Tower	AGC	71.4
29	Aspen Tower	ASE	71.4
30	St Lucie Tower	FPR	71.4
31	Grand Rapids Tower	GRR	71.4
32	Hayward Tower	HWD	71.4
33	Saginaw Tower	MBS	71.4
34	Orlando Tower	MCO	71.4
35	Sioux Gateway Tower	SUX	71.4
36	Casper Tower	CPR	72.2
37	Seattle TRACON	S46	73.1
38	Hooks Tower	DWH	73.7
39	Juneau Tower	JNU	73.7
40	Little Rock Tower	LIT	73.7
41	Boise Tower	BOI	73.8
42	Meacham Tower	FTW	73.9
43	Islip Tower	ISP	73.9
44	Birmingham Tower	BHM	74.4
45	Erie Tower	ERI	75.0
46	Eugene Tower	EUG	75.0
47	Helena Tower	HLN	75.0
48	Poughkeepsie Tower	POU	75.0
49	Fort Wayne Tower	FWA	75.9
50	Duluth Tower	DLH	76.0
51	Youngstown Tower	YNG	76.0
52	Binghamton Tower	BGM	76.2
53	Ontario Tower	ONT	76.2
54	Madison Tower	MSN	76.7
55	Long Beach Tower	LGB	76.9
56	John Wayne Tower	SNA	76.9
57	Vero Beach Tower	VRB	76.9
58	El Paso Tower	ELP	77.1
59	Memphis Tower	MEM	77.1
60	Norfolk Tower	ORF	77.1
61	Gulfport Tower	GPT	77.3
62	San Juan Tower	SJU	77.3
63	Tamiami Tower	TMB	77.3
64	Bangor Tower	BGR	77.4
65	Albuquerque Tower	ABQ	77.8
66	Bismarck Tower	BIS	77.8
67	Hilo Tower	ITO	77.8
68	Myrtle Beach Tower	MYR	77.8
69	Prescott Tower	PRC	77.8
70	Pueblo Tower	PUB	77.8
71	Sanford Tower	SFB	77.8
72	Savannah Tower	SAV	78.1
73	Nantucket Tower	ACK	78.6
74	Columbia Tower	CAE	78.6
75	Concord Tower	CCR	78.6
76	Camarillo Tower	CMA	78.6
77	Palomar Tower	CRQ	78.6
78	Des Moines Tower	DSM	78.6
79	Bowman Tower	LOU	78.6
80	Merrill Tower	MRI	78.6
81	Paine Tower	PAE	78.6
82	Palo Alto Tower	PAO	78.6
83	Sonoma Tower	STS	78.6
84	Spirit Tower	SUS	78.6
85	Twin Falls Tower	TWF	78.6
86	Maui Tower	OGG	78.9
87	Chattanooga Tower	CHA	79.2
88	Clarksburg Tower	CKB	79.2
89	Charleston Tower	CHS	79.3
90	Asheville Tower	AVL	80.0
91	Chino Tower	CNO	80.0
92	Central Florida TRACON	F11	80.0
93	Lexington Tower	LEX	80.0
94	Phoenix Tower	PHX	80.0
95	Corpus Christi Tower	CRP	80.5
96	Northern California TRACON	NCT	80.5
97	Wilkes-Barre Tower	AVP	80.8
98	Bradley Tower	BDL	81.0
99	Champaign Tower	CMI	81.0
100	Lake Charles Tower	LCH	81.0
101	Monroe Tower	MLU	81.0
102	Knoxville Tower	TYS	81.1
103	Dayton Tower	DAY	81.3
104	Manchester Tower	MHT	81.3
105	Colorado Springs Tower	COS	81.5
106	Atlanta TRACON	A80	81.8
107	Columbus Tower	CMH	81.8
108	Sioux Falls Tower	FSD	81.8
109	Jackson Tower	JAN	81.8
110	Salt Lake City Tower	SLC	81.8
111	Tuscon Tower	TUS	81.8
112	San Diego Tower	SAN	82.1
113	San Antonio Tower	SAT	82.1
114	Pittsburgh Tower	PIT	82.2
115	Wichita Tower	ICT	82.5
116	Great Falls Tower	GTF	82.6
117	Atlanta Tower	ATL	82.7
118	Denver Tower	DEN	82.9
119	Ann Arbor Tower	ARB	83.3
120	Billings Tower	BIL	83.3
121	Columbus Tower	CSG	83.3
122	Monterey Tower	MRY	83.3
123	Downtown Tower	MKC	84.2
124	Waco Tower	ACT	84.6
125	Dallas Love Tower	DAL	84.6
126	Houston Intercontinental Tower	IAH	84.6
127	Portland Tower	PWM	84.6
128	Seattle Tower	SEA	84.8

Of particular interest are the short-staffed TRACONs (Terminal Radar Approach Control); these are bigger facilities that assist with landing and departure for larger areas.

In fact, these numbers are a more optimistic view of the staffing shortage. They include fully-certified controllers, those that have transferred from a different facility and getting familiar with a new environment, and those just out of academy who are picking up on-the-job skills.

If looking at just the fully certified controllers, these rates drop even further.

For reference, it takes roughly 2–3 years for an academy graduate to become fully certified.

Why is There an ATC Staffing Shortage?

There are a few interlinked reasons.

As a mentioned earlier, it’s a difficult (and long) training process, which takes a minimum of 2-3 years. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted or paused training and now the system is playing catch-up.

The attrition rate of employees is high due to long hours and on-the-job stress. And finally, there’s a mandatory retirement age (56) which leads to a yearly employee loss.

This shortage is pushing controllers into 60-hour workweeks, in turn leading to a higher burnout rate.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Need more data related to flying? Check Out: All the Things Americans Find Unacceptable on Planes for interesting cultural insights.

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