San Carlos airport air traffic controllers unless last-minute deal worked out

San Carlos' airport will no longer have air traffic controllers as of Saturday, the airport manager announced, although there appears to be some behind-the-scenes negotiations that could prevent any disruptions, KTVU has learned. 

Airport manager Gretchen Kelly announced the change on Wednesday, hours before a military helicopter and a passenger plane crashed midair over the Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C. area, presumably killing all those on board. 

Because of that crash, an internal memo sent to pilots on Thursday, indicated that the controllers and their new contractor were close to finalizing an agreement, which would mean there wouldn't be any vacancies. 

San Carlos airport traffic controllers. Photo: San Mateo County 

The memo, obtained by KTVU, also noted there could be a contingency plan where air traffic controllers from across the country could be brought to help.

The idea of a deal was bolstered by U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), who told KTVU in a statement on Thursday that he was "pleased to learn that contract negotiations have moved in a positive direction and a resolution is forthcoming." 

"Airline travelers across the country rely on air traffic controllers to keep them safe," Mullin wrote. 

San Carlos airport spokesperson Davi Howard reiterated the fact that a last-minute deal would be hammered out. 

"We are pretty confident that we will have air traffic controllers here on Saturday and business as usual," Howard said. 

San Carlos air traffic tower could go dark 

What we know:

Before the negotiations update early Thursday afternoon, Kelly explained that the Federal Aviation Administration told the San Carlos airport on Wednesday morning that the tower would be unstaffed as of Saturday, which is called "ATC-Zero" in FAA-language. 

No "locality pay"

The reason for this, Kelly said, is that the FAA awarded a new contract for air traffic services to Robinson Aviation, but that the contract didn't include "locality pay" to account for the high cost of living in the Bay Area.

As a result, Kelly said, the offers to current San Carlos controllers were significantly lower than their current compensation that they were getting from another contractor, Serco, the largest non-governmental provider of air navigation services in the world. 

The San Francisco Standard reported this would be a loss of $18,000 in a housing stipend. 

"Understandably, all current controllers have declined" the Robinson Aviation contract, Kelly wrote.

Since the FAA is ultimately responsible for ensuring air traffic services, Kelly said the San Carlos airport asked for temporary staffing, which she said is currently being implemented at Eagle Airport in Colorado during its transition from Serco to Robinson Aviation. 

"However, the FAA informed us this morning that they will not provide temporary personnel for SQL," Kelly said.

Under the Serco contract, the San Carlos airport had six air traffic controllers, according to the San Mateo County website. 

Mullin said that "it is well known that the San Francisco Bay Area has a high cost of living, and federal agencies need to account for regional differences when evaluating how to establish contracts for critical services."

He said his office is working with both the San Carlos airport and the FAA to "help ensure that this situation is resolved." 

What we don't know:

It wasn't made immediately clear why the FAA is switching from Serco to Robinson.

Local perspective:

The San Carlos Airport is located 20 miles south of downtown San Francisco. It was constructed in its present location in 1948.

It's also home to approximately 500 aircraft and over 25 aviation-related businesses, according to the government, and aviation is the top employer in San Mateo County.

Not all airports have towers

Big picture view:

According to Flying Magazine, the majority of the airports in the United States are nontowered because they don't have the traffic to necessitate a control tower. 

Pilots learn to fly in and out of both towered and nontowered, also known as pilot-controlled, airports as part of their training. 

Pilots are taught to see and avoid other traffic—no matter what kind of airport they are at. 

While tower controllers will provide traffic advisories if able, pilots don't rely on them to report when someone else is out there.

Flying Magazine also said that not all towers are open 24/7. 

Busier airports, such as airline hub locations like Seattle, Atlanta, New York City, have full-time towers, while smaller, less busy airports may have part-time towers. 

Two pilots having lunch near the San Carlos airport on Thursday said they remember a time in the 1960s when there were no air traffic controllers and things were mostly fine. 

But another pilot, Alex Miller, said he's upset that the new contractor would wouldn't pay the air traffic controllers a living wage for the Bay Area. 

"This current batch of controllers, I mean we love them and they're an invaluable asset to this airport," he said. "And the fact they they're trying to low-ball them is infuriating to me." 

Miller also added that air traffic controllers are necessary. 

"There's people coming in from all directions at this airport, all converging," he said, "and the tower plays a vital role in traffic separation. I mean it's so congested, so busy that this poses just a huge risk." 

Deadly D.C. crash

The San Carlos announcement came hours before 67 people are feared dead after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter crashed midair over the Ronald Reagan National Airport in what is likely the worst U.S. aviation disaster in a quarter-century. 

Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard. There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision.

The FAA has been operating without an administrator since Mike Whitaker stepped down on January 20. Trump named a new acting administrator for the agency on Thursday morning at a press conference related to the deadly crash.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) told KTVU that he landed at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night just minutes before the deadly crash, noting the congestion of airports in the area and the number of air traffic controllers who were working. 

"We have to understand whether the congested air traffic in this region was a part of the cause," he said. "We also need to understand whether we have enough air travel controllers to deconflict congested areas, and so there's a lot we have to do." 

San Mateo County officials had that crash at top of mind.

"Well I think they must prioritize safety over cost-saving measures," Supervisor Ray Mueller said. "It's just simple, it's just that simple." 

San CarlosNews