The FAA administrator is "guardedly hopeful" that the air traffic control problems are over.

After a summer of delays, the Federal Aviation Administration's administrator believes that things have improved.

Acting agency administrator Billy Nolen told reporters on Thursday that he believed the worst of the air traffic control delays were probably behind us.

After speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aerospace Summit in Washington, Nolen remarked, "I'm cautiously hopeful that the balance of this year should be positive."
"We will continue to work in close coordination and partnership with the industry." 

Delays in air traffic control, often brought on by staffing issues, have contributed to the airline industry's challenging operational summer.
On August 15, an unexpected government warning regarding flight delays in and around New York caused by ATC staffing shortages at a site on Long Island was the culmination of that.
This year, a comparable facility close to Jacksonville, Florida, has also experienced ongoing staffing challenges.

According to Nolen, the FAA has been hiring more air traffic controllers and has received a positive response. 

We're on schedule to hire at least 1,500 people for the upcoming year because of the huge level of demand, he said.

It will take some time to see the impact of these new personnel because they will first report to the FAA's academy in Oklahoma City as students and then spend some time receiving on-the-job training at an air traffic facility before they can work traffic on their own. 

The FAA and airlines have been engaged in a tug-of-war over who is to blame for the delays this summer. The agency, along with the Department of Transportation, which is its parent agency, has met with airline executives numerous times to urge them to reduce schedules to something that is thought to be realistic given staffing and other constraints.
Nolen stated that he was pleased with the actions taken by the airlines in this regard. 

In response to the Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's request, he stated, "the airlines have stepped up to the plate."
"And we'll simply keep watching things to make sure that the public has access to safe, effective, and affordable travel."