FAA Calls Urgent Meetings to Address Near Collision Incidents

They are called runway incursions.

Which is just a fancy aviation term for the near-misses and near-collisions in the air over airports and on runways. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered more than 90 airports to hold emergency meetings about the problem.

The issue has only intensified lately as critics, including United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, have blamed the FAA for a shortage of air traffic controllers.

And it’s not just commercial airliners and small private planes.

At Boston Logan Airport in June, an American Airlines aircraft and a Delta flight nearly collided. A pilot of one of the planes could be heard screaming in the background to air traffic controllers to cut off the takeoff.

Pilots have also either dismissed or misinterpreted instructions on which runway to use—just earlier this month at San Diego International, a Southwest plane had to abort a takeoff to miss colliding with a Cessna private plane.

There were nearly 1,700 runway incursions last year and 985 so far this year. There were 46 runway incursions in the month of July this year alone.

The meetings are being billed as a refresher on runway safety. The sessions are said to focus on situational awareness in cockpits and air traffic towers.

“Everyone needs to be more diligent and double down on safety,” says Captain Jason Ambrosi, nationwide president of the Air Line Pilots Association.

One contributing factor to the runway incursions could be the shortage of nearly 1,200 air traffic controllers. Not only is there a shortage, but many are working double shifts or six days a week.

In a statement, the FAA said, “The U.S. Aviation System is the safest in the world, but one close call is one too many.”