FAA proposes to hire 2,300 air traffic controllers in budget request
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Federal Aviation Administration is about 3,500 fully certified air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- The FAA plans to hire 2,300 air traffic controller trainees to address a shortage of 3,500 fully certified controllers.
- Funding includes US$95.4 million for trainees and US$39 million to boost aviation safety and commercial space oversight.
- The FAA is increasing salaries, speeding up hiring and offering incentives to retain experienced controllers.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on April 6 it is proposing to hire 2,300 air traffic controller trainees as it works to address a persistent lack of personnel.
The FAA is about 3,500 fully certified air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. At the end of September it employed 13,164 controllers – or 6 per cent fewer controllers than it did a decade earlier. Many controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks and the FAA’s air traffic control training academy faces serious issues with retaining students.
The FAA is seeking US$95.4 million (S$122 million) to bring 2,300 controller trainees on board, up from 2,038 in 2025. The FAA is also seeking US$39 million to increase aviation safety oversight and strengthen commercial space transportation oversight, compliance and enforcement.
Congress approved US$12.5 billion in 2025 for a rehabilitation of the ageing US air traffic control system and to boost hiring.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week he wants another US$7 billion to US$10 billion for new software and other tech upgrades.
In February, the USDOT Office of Inspector-General said it was investigating the high failure rates among air traffic control trainees. The FAA said in December it lost around 400 to 500 trainees during the government shutdown last fall.
Congress earlier this year approved funding to hire 2,500 additional controllers in 2026.
The FAA is offering retirement-eligible controllers who are under the mandatory retirement age of 56 a lump sum payment of 20 per cent of their basic pay for each year they continue to work. The FAA has increased starting salaries by 30 per cent for candidates who go to the FAA training academy and is speeding time-to-hire by cutting more than four months off the prior process.
The FAA is in the process of moving its headquarters into the main USDOT building and the Trump administration wants US$60 million to complete the move of thousands of employees. REUTERS
