Speaking of things that aren’t likely to go away anytime soon, the turbulence continues to rumble around Philadelphia International Airport.

This time it isn’t coming from the air, and the noise of jets redirected over heavily populated areas of Delaware County. It’s happening on the ground, and it pits local Congressman Joe Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, along with a group of air traffic controllers, against the Federal Aviation Administration.

You might remember that it was just last week that Sestak and the controllers held a press conference to blast the federal agency for the way they have implemented the flight path changes at the airport, part of the hated redesign plan targeting chronic delays at airports in the Northeast part of the country.

Bottom line is the controllers aired what they believed were safety problems in the training and the way the program was put into practice.

When those concerns were relayed to the FAA, their spokesman fired back, insisting there was nothing unsafe about the new plans and that adequate training had been offered.

But that’s not all.

Jim Peters, the FAA’s regional spokesman, hinted that the move by the controllers to oppose the flight path changes is rooted in some sour grapes over the new contract implemented by the FAA in September 2006.

He bristled at any suggestion that the new flight path plans are unsafe, calling them “outrageous.”

He also offered a little career advice for any controller who believes otherwise.
“If any controller at the Philadelphia airport believes that these procedures are unsafe, they should look for work elsewhere,” he said.

That isn’t sitting too well with either Sestak or the air traffic controllers.
Yesterday they held another press conference to label the FAA as a “rogue agency” that is “out of control.”

It’s familiar turf for Sestak, who along with County Council has led the charge against the airport redistricting plan. One of the themes he has pounded away at is his belief that the FAA has been “unaccountable” throughout the process.

It’s for that reason that he asked the Government Accountability Office to review the process the FAA used in formulating the redesign plan. It was originally hoped that might delay implementation of the changes. That didn’t work.

Now both sides continue to lob pot shots at each other.

The FAA is standing by its belief that the new flight paths are safe. An FAA spokeswoman in Washington said the agency welcomed “legitimate safety concerns, but the information has to be factual.” The clear indication is that the claims made by Sestak and the controllers simply aren’t accurate.

The controllers, as well as Sestak, are vowing not to go away, or back down.

“They have been arrogant, contemptuous in their comments, sarcastic at best,” Sestak said. “It really is a rogue agency.”

Patrick Forrey, the national president of NATCA, said his group is not backing down, nor are they going away.

Yep, the turbulence surrounding the airport doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.