NATCA Southwest Region is responsible for representing federal and private air traffic controllers in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

America's sophisticated air traffic control system handles more than half of the world's air traffic and cargo. The men and women who make up our national air traffic control workforce serve as the very lynchpin of this system, ensuring the safety of nearly 600 million aviation passengers per year.

These dedicated professionals are a pilot's primary communication link from the time an aircraft leaves the gate until it arrives safely at its destination. As such, an air traffic controller's job requires absolute precision and constant vigilance. Air traffic controllers work in a demanding, high-energy environment, where there is no room for error.

In 1987, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) was founded to advocate preserving the strength and stability of our air traffic control system, and to represent the controllers responsible for ensuring the safety of the flying public. That same year, the Federal Labor Relations Authority certified NATCA as the exclusive bargaining representative for Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers.

Today, NATCA, a federal-sector labor union, and direct affiliate of the AFL/CIO, represents more than 15,000 federal and private air traffic controllers throughout the U.S. and its territories, along with 2,508 other bargaining-unit members, ranging from engineers and architects to nurses and health care professionals.

The men and women of NATCA know that protecting the safety of the flying public is their sacred trust. NATCA works tirelessly on behalf of its membership to ensure that America's air traffic control system remains the best in the world, and controllers are given the tools they need to guide you home safely.