Air traffic controllers (ATCOs) at some of the busiest airports in the country such as Delhi are unable to get their mandatory break of 30 minutes after every two hours because of manpower crunch, and at airports such as Guwahati, they work 365 days a year without a day off. The shortage of staff has also led to women employees being denied childcare leave.
The sanctioned strength of ATCOs in the country is 3,901, against which only 3,162 personnel are employed- a shortage of 19%. This gap is only getting wider. Those part of discussions within the Airports Authority of India (AAI) say that with several unused airports being revived under UDAN (or regional connectivity scheme) in tier-2 and tier-3 airports and development of new airports like Jewar and Bhogapuram, another estimated 300 to 500 ATCOs need to be hired immediately.
