the issues involved and the outcomes of the air traffic controllers strike is the fact that the strike was not the only significant phenomenon to affect air traffic in the US in the early 1980s. Deregulation of the air transportation industry was also accomplished during that time period.
Deregulation brought about a rush of new airline companies into the industry. In 1978, the last full year of operation prior to the initiation of deregulation, there were 248 airline companies in the United States ("FAA", 1985). By 1983, there were 349 airline companies in the country ("FAA"). This increase in activity exacerbated any other problems confronting air traffic control. Workload levels, thus, were a potential issue in air traffic control. Whether or not the potential materialized, of course, depended largely on the maintenance of necessary air traffic controller staffing levels.
Thus, the initial stage of the air traffic control problem involved an enormous increase in the levels of activity and responsibility for the air traffic controllers employe
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