Seven flight service stations across Alaska have been closed after the Federal Aviation Administration placed stations’ employees on administrative leave last month, the agency said. Aviation experts say the closures could make flying less safe and have already caused flight cancellations in Northwest Alaska.
“This is affecting flight safety,” said Darren Young, the director of operations at Warbelow's Air Ventures, a carrier that flies across the Interior and North Slope. “We have enough issues up here with infrastructure as it is in Alaska.”
Flight service stations are air traffic facilities that help pilots with flight planning and provide them with in-flight weather updates, runway conditions and emergency assistance. Unlike air traffic control, the stations don’t issue clearances or direct air traffic, but they’re helpful in remote areas.
The FAA closed the stations after placing a number of employees on administrative leave amid allegations of employee misconduct, according to an emailed statement from an FAA spokesperson Donnell Evans. The agency did not say how many employees were placed on leave or provide specifics about the misconduct allegations.
The decision resulted in closures of flight service stations in Utqiagvik, Northway, Deadhorse, Palmer, Talkeetna, Nome and Kotzebue, originally reported by The Nome Nugget. While those stations are closed, Evans said remote services are available through hubs in Fairbanks and Kenai.
Flights canceled and pilots placed on hold
Flight service stations are equipped with automated weather observation systems. The agency said it will work with the National Weather Service to resolve any issues with weather systems and would send personnel to a facility to provide observations when needed.
However, an Alaska Airlines spokesperson Tim Thompson confirmed via email that the company canceled several passenger flights into Nome and Kotzebue in early June because the weather systems were out of service. There were also no observers on the ground to report conditions.
“FAA regulations require that we have at least one of these in operation in order to operate,” Thompson said.
Young said pilots in remote locations need on-the-ground weather observers.
“The weather is changing so rapidly along the coast, it's almost a necessity to have these guys out there that can do this reporting,” he said.
A local aviation nonprofit, the Alaska Air Carriers Association, wrote a letter to the state’s Congressional delegation last month, urging them to restore the stations in Nome and Kotzebue. Will Day, the association’s executive director, wrote that consolidating services in hubs is overloading the Fairbanks station and resulting in delays and degraded service.
Adam White, who heads the government and legislative affairs program for another aviation nonprofit, Alaska Airmen's Association, also said that pilots calling flight stations have reported being placed on hold more often.
“We're traveling in an aircraft, and we're traveling at some pretty decent speeds, and we have to be able to still be in range of that radio station,” White said. “That does put a little bit of stress on the pilots.”
White said that flight service stations are helpful for pilots but not having them “is not a showstopper” when it comes to Alaska aviation.
Evans said the FAA is coordinating with the Office of Inspector General to investigate the alleged misconduct of the employees. The agency did not provide a timeline for the investigation.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been pressing the FAA to quickly address the staffing shortage, according to her spokesman Joseph Plesha. A spokesperson for Sen. Dan Sullivan said Sullivan had also contacted the FAA and the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking for more information about the closures.
