Meteorologist Shortages Raise Flight Safety Concerns
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has warned that growing shortages of aviation meteorologists in the United States could pose serious risks to flight safety. A report released this week highlighted that National Weather Service (NWS) staff supporting air traffic controllers are working overtime, skipping leave, and covering multiple roles due to understaffing.
As of June 2025, the NWS aviation meteorology workforce had fallen to 69 employees, well below the staffing needs outlined in earlier agreements. A 2016 FAA–NWS agreement required three meteorologists and one lead at each of the country’s 21 air route traffic control centers, but current staffing levels make this impossible. At the Oakland center, for example, only one meteorologist is available, while four others have just two each, and five centers have no meteorologist in charge.
The GAO flagged that remote meteorologists often fill gaps for understaffed centers, but lack local weather knowledge and critical system alerts, raising the risk of reduced accuracy. Some airlines reported that weather information has become less precise, while others said their own meteorology teams have been asked to fill in, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.
The FAA and NWS are negotiating a new staffing agreement for 2026, with proposals for between 62 and 71 positions. While NWS has secured exemptions from a hiring freeze to add staff, the GAO stressed that the FAA has not fully identified or addressed the risks of diminished service.
FAA officials said they are working on a streamlined workforce model, targeting 64 meteorologists in strategically placed field centers to improve efficiency and redundancy.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, govexec.com