Light Dims Moods in Tampa Int'l Radar Room

Air traffic controllers at Tampa International Airport want the lights turned off.

The controllers say their supervisors have created a dangerous environment by turning up lights in the traditionally dark radar room, creating a glare that hinders their ability to track flights properly on their computers. Some controllers have filed complaints with their employer, the Federal Aviation Administration.

"It's irresponsible," said Pat McCormick, head of the Tampa chapter of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "Here we are going into the most heavily traveled weeks of the year, and they're ordering us to operate in unsafe conditions."

But FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said managers turned up the lights in the radar room because people had tripped in the dark room on "several occasions" and because supervisors needed more light to do paperwork.

Even so, Bergen said, the room remains very dim. And in February, Tampa controllers began using a state-of-the-art computer system called Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS).

"That system is designed to work in very brightly lit rooms," Bergen said. It lets controllers alter the contrast on their computer screens and is used at major Florida airports.

The radar room is a windowless space inside the tower where controllers using radar direct all aircraft that have just taken off from TIA and other nearby airports, are landing or are passing through TIA airspace.

McCormick acknowledged that the system allows controllers to adjust their screens. But he said it is time consuming, and different supervisors set the lights to different levels.

"You don't need those distractions," he said. "You can't see all the aircraft."

The dispute comes amid tension between the FAA and the air traffic controllers union. Contract talks between the two parties have collapsed. The FAA has been able to impose its final contract offer on controllers.

Times staff writer Jean Heller contributed to this report.

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