The US Needs More Air Traffic Controllers. Is It Safe to Fly?

March 25, 2026, 1:50 AM UTC

The deadly collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport of an Air Canada Express plane and a fire truck on March 22 is raising fresh concerns about strains on the air traffic control system.

Investigators have only just begun examining the circumstances of the crash, and it is too soon to know what might have led to the runway collision that killed both of the plane’s pilots. But after a spate of accidents and near-misses, experts worry that a shortage of air traffic controllers is making flying more dangerous.

An Air Canada Express plane after it collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on March 22.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Why aren’t there enough air traffic controllers?

Air traffic controllers – ...

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