Wanted: 300 air traffic controllers

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is in need of nearly 300 air traffic controllers to handle the growing volume of flights to and from its airports.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said it is looking for at least 288 more personnel to man air traffic control towers, as the country is running short on manpower with the demand for air travel returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Transportation Undersecretary Roberto Lim said the Philippines is starting to feel the shortage of aviation staff, a problem that is also affecting airlines and airports across the globe. Currently, CAAP employs a total of 776 air traffic controllers.

Lim noted that hiring should be done right away, as it takes about a year for a new recruit to finish training and get the required certification.

In the coming Singapore Airshow from Feb. 20 to 25, the Philippine delegation, composed of government officials and private shareholders, will look for investors who may be interested in setting up aviation schools in the country.

“We would welcome investors from any part of the aviation industry to look at the Philippines, to invest in education, to invest in airports, to invest in logistics,” Lim said.

He said the shortage in air traffic controllers has to be addressed immediately, as the situation is putting greater pressure on current employees to work longer hours.

Eventually, this could become a problem for the government, especially as air traffic is expected to increase over time as carriers plan to scale up flight frequencies to meet the demand.

In 2023, CAAP asked the government to raise the salaries of aviation experts in the Philippines to stop a brain drain in the industry.

The agency lamented that it is losing aviation talents mostly to more lucrative offers in the Middle East, where starting salaries are usually six times higher than what is offered in the Philippines.

CAAP warned that without any reform, the country would keep on losing people whose training and experience are vital to preventing a repeat of the airspace shutdown on New Year’s Day in 2023. The incident, which forced the cancellation of hundreds of flight that left tens of thousands of air passengers stranded, marked one of the worst days for local aviation.

Lim said one of the steps being undertaken by the government to arrest the decline in the number of air controllers is to privatize the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where the winning bidder would be tasked to invest in the training of new talents to run the airport’s day-to-day operations.