US Department of Transportation Announces New Air Traffic Controller Hiring Plan

• Increasing starting salaries by 30 percent for candidates who attend the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Academy. The average certified professional controller makes over $160,000 per year. 
• Streamlining hiring to improve efficiency by changing the current 8-step hiring process at the FAA to a 5-step process. The change is designed to accelerate the time-to-hire by shaving more than four months off the process.   

DOT also said today that once trainees successfully pass through the academy, they will be assigned to a tower or other facility across the country, where they’ll work with experienced air traffic controllers toward certification.

According to a recent report from CNN, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a union, has been warning about staffing shortages for 10 years.

The shortages are partially due to the stringent training required for the job, as well as attrition that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a 2023 inspector general report, the pandemic brought about pauses in training, which in turn, increased certification times for new controllers. Meanwhile, older controllers continued to retire.

More than 90 percent of U.S. airport towers are currently understaffed, according to a CBS report. There's currently about 10,800 air traffic control personnel nationwide. NATCA says that's about 3,600 fewer than what's required to maintain a fully staffed National Airspace System.

The Trump administration also announced a hiring freeze in January after the president took office and sent letters to FAA employees, offering them the option to resign with eight months’ pay.

It was later made clear by the Office for Personnel Management that controllers were not eligible for the resignation plan, even though they were among the employees sent the offer, according to the Associated Press.

The US Travel Association expressed support today for the DOT's new hiring plan. Association President Geoff Freeman said in a statement that DOT's actions will "accelerate the creation of a world-class aviation experience that travelers expect, demand and deserve."

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