There are a lot of reasons why it feels so difficult to fly right now.
Air traffic controllers are critical to operation of U.S. airways, but the industry has dealt with decades of staffing woes that still aren't quite resolved.
On top of contollers' rocky history, federal law requires that they retire at 56, in part because controllers have to stay current on advancing technology.
The Federal Aviation Administration argues burnout gets more acute for workers by their mid 50s.
