By Kate Robards, senior writer

Every day, more than 45,000 flights transport 2.9 million passengers to their destinations. Behind the scenes, over 14,000 air traffic controllers work in 520 control towers, ensuring safe takeoffs, landings and flight paths across the U.S.

However, air traffic control is a high-stakes job, often requiring operators to work through irregular schedules, long shifts and unpredictable hours. These working conditions, combined with disrupted circadian rhythms and insufficient rest, create fatigue — a significant threat to safety, performance and health.

Studies show that causes of fatigue in aviation include insufficient sleep, disturbed sleep during layovers and extended periods of wakefulness. Disrupted circadian rhythms and jet lag further impair alertness, reduce performance and present long-term health risks for aviation professionals.

Fatigue and air traffic accidents

The danger of fatigue has played a tragic role in aviation history. In 2010, Air India Express Flight 812 crashed during landing in Mangalore, killing 158 of the 166 occupants. The investigation cited the captain’s prolonged sleep and sleep inertia — grogginess upon waking — as contributing factors to the accident. The report even recorded the captain’s snoring on the cockpit voice recorder, marking the first such incident noted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Fatigue is not a rare occurrence. A 2021 review noted that fatigue was cited as a probable cause in 21%-23% of major aviation accident investigations over the past two decades.

Aviation legend Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who successfully landed U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in New York’s Hudson River after both engines failed due to bird strikes, emphasized the importance of rest: “I’m convinced that had we been tired, had we not gotten sufficient rest the night before, we could not have performed at the same level… I may not have been able to perform as well,” Sully told ABC News.

The FAA fatigue panel and key findings

To tackle fatigue in air traffic control, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) convened a panel of experts in December 2023. Led by Dr. Mark Rosekind, former NTSB member and safety and sleep/fatigue expert, the panel also comprised Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief and senior physician in the division of sleep and circadian disorders and departments of medicine and neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, head of the NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory.

The panel was charged with exploring how sleep science could shape policies to mitigate fatigue in air traffic operations. They examined scheduling practices, working conditions and existing policies. Over the course of the project, the panel reviewed 120 documents, conducted 25 meetings and interviews with FAA staff and external individuals, and visited four air traffic operations facilities. They analyzed data from more than 700,000 work hours and days off logged by over 10,000 controllers in January 2024.

The final report identified four critical opportunities for reform:

  1. Unify a fatigue management system: Integrate prescriptive policies with a fatigue management system to centralize resources and ensure all relevant materials are easily accessible.
  2. Monitor schedule violations: Identify and monitor instances where schedules exceed established limits and develop strategies to prevent future violations.
  3. Eliminate the 2-2-1 shift pattern: Abolish the counterclockwise rotating 2-2-1 schedule — where controllers rotate from two afternoon shifts to two morning shifts, followed by an overnight shift — replacing it with schedules aligned with sleep and circadian principles.
  4. Update rest policies: Ensure adequate time off between shifts, recommending 10-12 hours of off-duty rest to account for circadian rhythms.

In total, the report identified 58 opportunities to reduce or mitigate fatigue risks in controller operations, including 11 opportunities for near-term attention and 43 opportunities for ongoing efforts.

FAA and NATCA partnership

In April 2024, FAA administrator Mike Whitaker announced that the agency would extend rest periods for air traffic controllers as part of efforts to address fatigue. This decision was reinforced in July 2024 when the FAA reached an agreement with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to implement long-term opportunities identified by the panel.

Under the new agreement, controllers are now guaranteed:

  • 10 hours off between shifts and 12 hours off before and after midnight shifts.
  • Limitations on consecutive overtime assignments to ensure sufficient recovery time.
  • Procedures for improved recuperative breaks during shifts, along with workforce education on how to maximize the benefits of these breaks.

The FAA and NATCA also agreed to form a collaborative workgroup and expand the FAA’s Fatigue Risk Management System Fatigue Safety Steering Committee to develop recommendations addressing the findings from the expert panel.

In a press release from the FAA, the panel members said, “We commend the FAA and NATCA for taking these actions that reflect the Scientific Expert Panel findings and will significantly address air traffic controller fatigue risks including the four priority opportunities identified, and improve the safety of the National Airspace System.”

When asked about potential obstacles the FAA might face in implementing changes, Dr. Flynn-Evans clarified that the panel did not make formal recommendations but instead identified opportunities for the FAA to consider in its efforts to mitigate fatigue risks.

“Any schedule change requires input from different stakeholders,” Dr. Flynn-Evans said. “The FAA will need to consider both the operational needs and employee needs to determine the best ways to design schedules that mitigate fatigue.”

Public Safety Committee applauds the changes

The FAA’s efforts have earned praise from the AASM’s Public Safety Committee. In a letter published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM), the committee expressed strong support for the new shift requirements, applauding FAA administrator Mike Whitaker for “offering prompt directives to address public safety.”

This isn’t the first time public safety experts have weighed in on fatigue issues in the aviation industry. In 2021, the committee submitted comments on flight attendant rest requirements. They have also described research on managing fatigue in aviation, and in 2022, they drafted an AASM position statement calling for better diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea across the transportation industry to promote public safety.

Fatigue in the future

As the aviation industry embraces these reforms, the FAA must remain vigilant. Implementing and monitoring new policies will require sustained cooperation with NATCA and scientific experts.

Emerging technologies may play a crucial role in helping the FAA monitor fatigue in real time.

“Implementing policies that minimize fatigue should help improve controller performance in general, though there are also technological solutions that could help controllers maximize fatigue risk,” the panel noted in its report. The report specifically highlighted the Terminal Flight Data Manager, an automated system to improve air traffic operations, which is scheduled to be fully deployed in 2028.

By adopting evidence-based strategies to reduce fatigue, the FAA is taking crucial steps to safeguard passengers and improve the well-being of air traffic controllers. As the skies grow busier and flight demands increase, the industry’s commitment to mitigating fatigue will be essential to maintaining safety and performance.