The air traffic controllers union called on the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday to reduce the maximum number of jetliners allowed to land at Los Angeles International Airport, the Daily Breeze reports.
Union officials also want to end the rarely used practice of allowing arriving airplanes to land on the same runway used by departing aircraft during peak operating periods.
The call for a change in landing procedures comes roughly two weeks after the FAA imposed a new rule requiring air traffic controllers at LAX Tower to receive a correct “read back” of flight instructions from pilots landing at the airport. Those who fail to comply with the new rule could face discipline.
“What the FAA has essentially done is increase our workload in an attempt to remind professional pilots not to run the stop sign,” said Michael Foote, local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“Unfortunately, we are too often placed in a situation where if we do what is safest, we face discipline and possible termination of our jobs,” Foote said. “Due to this conflict, we can no longer in good conscience support landing on our primary departure runways.”
The new rule was implemented following a runway incursion reported at LAX over the summer, when two jetliners came within 37 feet of each other on the north airfield.
