FAA announces plan to provide more air traffic controllers, support to ease Florida travel troubles

TAMPA, Fla. - Travel to Florida is at an all-time high. Since 2019, more and more people have booked flights to the Sunshine State.

But with the increase in flights, there’s also been an increase in cancelations and delays. So, the FAA held a meeting this week to come up with solutions to address those problems.

Last year, 118 million visitors made a trip to Florida, creating a new record for the state. Major cities on both coasts are feeling the impact. Service to Miami is up 113%, in West Palm Beach it’s up by 132% and in Tampa, the city has seen a 107% increase in flights compared to before the pandemic.

However, thousands of flights have also been canceled or delayed. Early last month, reports showed over 9,000 cancellations due to bad weather, coupled with high travel demand and not enough airline staff to keep up with demand it’s created problems. Many airlines have also blamed their delays on not having enough air traffic controllers as the pandemic slowed training to bring new people in.  

READ: Frontier Airlines adds four new direct flight routes to Caribbean countries from Tampa

The FAA held a meeting this week to address some of the concerns, stating that in the coming months they plan to add more air traffic controllers at one of their key air traffic control centers in Jacksonville along with other locations across the state.

They also said they plan to increase communication with airlines about space shuttle launches and other events that could impact routes.

The FAA said they will also try to make more use of alternate routes to keep things moving after a disruption. They said they hope these changes will help to fix the problems and keep cancelations and delays from piling up.