William & Mary Professor John Strong appointed to the National Academy of Sciences committee on air traffic control

John S. Strong, CSX Professor of Finance and Economics at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business, was recently appointed to the National Academy of Sciences Committee on FAA Planning for Air Traffic Control Facility Staffing. The committee’s work focused on evaluating how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determines staffing levels at its 313 air traffic control (ATC) facilities, and how those levels affect safety and operations across the national airspace system.

The committee’s final report, The Air Traffic Controller Workforce Imperative: Staffing Models and Their Implementation to Ensure Safe and Efficient Airspace Operations, was released publicly in June 2025 following briefings to Congress and the administration. The report was requested by Congress and sponsored by the FAA in response to ongoing concerns about understaffed ATC facilities, flight delays, safety risks, and controller fatigue.

“It was an honor to be part of this committee,” Strong said. "We had people with deep experience in aviation, from operations modeling and pilot training to air management and fatigue science. Everyone brought a unique perspective to a complex problem.”

Strong was one of 14 members on the committee, which included leaders from NAV Canada, Delta Air Lines, MIT, Georgia Tech, Penn Medicine, and Ohio State, as well as airport professionals, researchers, engineers, and safety experts.

Strong’s Expertise in Aviation

Strong’s academic work has focused on transport infrastructure and finance for over four decades. He holds a Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard and has authored books and articles on aviation liberalization, air navigation systems, international airlines, and infrastructure financing. He has consulted for the transportation agencies and financial institutions in the U.S. and internationally, including work for the U.S. Department of Transportation, the World Bank, and multiple development banks. At William & Mary, Strong teaches courses in corporate finance.

“We are proud to see John contribute his expertise to a national effort of this importance,” said Dean Todd Mooradian. “His appointment reflects the caliber of scholarship at the Mason School, and his work on this committee will play a meaningful role in shaping the future of transportation policy and infrastructure.”

Report Focus and Key Findings

The study Strong contributed to reviewed the FAA’s current staffing models, comparing different approaches and challenges in implementation. The report analyzed factors contributing to ongoing shortages. The committee also evaluated the FAA’s response to recommendations made in a 2014 National Academies report on controller fatigue and staffing.

Some key findings include:

• Between 2010 and 2024, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) air traffic controllers fell by about 2,000, representing a 13% decline.
• About 40 percent of facilities were below their staffing targets.
• Nineteen major ATC facilities that support 27% of the nation’s commercial flights were found to be more than 15% below their staffing targets. These facilities accounted for roughly 40% of all delays, including nearly half of delays not related to weather.
• Safe operations have been maintained at a cost of increased delays and reduced efficiency for airlines and airports.
• Hiring did not keep pace with retirements and increased traffic, largely due to budget constraints, government shutdowns, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially important given the lead times required to train controllers for operations at the busiest air traffic facilities.
• The FAA has not been successful in redistributing controllers from overstaffed to understaffed locations.
• Use of overtime has increased significantly since 2013, including at facilities considered fully staffed. The committee raised concerns that scheduling inefficiencies may be contributing to unnecessary overtime and reduced effectiveness.

“The system is not just short on people,” Strong said. “It’s also inefficient in how it schedules and uses the people it has. We tried to identify realistic steps to address that.”

Recommendations to the FAA and Congress

The report also outlines several recommendations, including:

• The FAA should hire to meet modeled staffing targets and provide incentives for certified controllers to transfer from overstaffed to understaffed facilities.
• Congress should fund these additional hires and transfer incentives.
• The FAA should implement updated shift-scheduling tools and fatigue risk management systems that align with current safety standards.
• Staffing models should be validated using internal FAA safety data, including operational error reports and other performance indicators.
• Training pipelines should be expanded, including greater use of technology and simulators and increased efforts to develop controller training at partner universities and at the FAA Academy.

For Strong, the committee’s work meant more than just making recommendations to Congress and the administration on how to improve the FAA’s ATC operations. “This was a chance to work with people who care deeply about the future of aviation,” he said. “The findings have important implications for safety and reliability across the entire U.S. airspace system.”

About the National Academies

The National Academies of Sciences was founded in 1863 with the goal of having leading experts from the scientific and technological communities provide high-quality, objective policy advice to the government. Study committees provide independent, evidence-based guidance on science, engineering and health issues. The committee’s report, like all consensus studies from the Academies, was peer-reviewed and reflects agreement among committee members. Committee service is unpaid.