For months now, the shortage of air traffic controllers has forced Fairbanks International Airport to shut down its tower for several hours at night and rely on controllers in Anchorage to coordinate air traffic to and from the Interior city.

And the situation is getting worse, according to Larry Lescanec, vice president of the Alaska region for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a trade union.

On Oct. 17, a lack of staff forced air traffic controllers in the Fairbanks tower to shut down for the day at 5:30 p.m., again relying on the Federal Aviation Administration's Anchorage center, which is responsible for all incoming and outgoing Alaska aviation traffic from Hawaii to the North Pole.

Some 300-air traffic controllers statewide manage and direct aircraft for the FAA at five towers, one en route center and 14 flight service stations.

Lescanec and NATCA spokesperson Alex Caldwell said the lack of controllers is rooted in a three-year hiring freeze and open positions as people retire.

Lescanec said part of his mission, as the incoming vice president of the Alaska region, is to better inform Alaskans of how controllers contribute to the economy and aviation safety as public safety agents. He hopes to spread the word through personal appearances at major public events and with a series of television commercials promoting the profession, in hopes of attracting more young recruits into careers in air traffic control.

Another challenge: an FAA rule that says air traffic controller applicants must be 30 years old or younger when they are approved for hire.

It takes up to three experienced controllers to train a new recruit before they are certified, said Caldwell.

Even those with degrees need a minimum of one year of training to work in a tower like Merrill Field in Anchorage, Lescanec said.

Air traffic controllers in Alaska are usually hired out of the University of Alaska Aviation and Technology Division's two-year air traffic controller programs Lescanec said.