DULUTH — A second air traffic controller was on duty early Friday at the Duluth International Airport because of the fallout nationally from controllers caught napping on the job.
Duluth is among 27 airports in the U.S. that were assigned a second controller during the graveyard shift. No commercial flights are scheduled to depart or arrive overnight, but airport director Brian Ryks says general aviation and corporate planes might use the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration reviewed the entire air traffic control system after four cases in which controllers were caught snoozing on the job. FAA chief Randy Babbitt ordered a second controller be added at 27 airports around the country. The Fargo, N.D., airport also got a second overnight controller.
