WASHINGTON — In the wake of several near misses at airports and fatal airplane crashes in recent weeks, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a plan to ramp up air traffic controller hiring.

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a plan to ramp up air traffic controller hiring

  • The move comes in the wake of several near misses at airports and fatal airplane crashes in recent weeks

  • The plan calls for increasing trainees' starting salaries by 30% for candidates who attend the FAA Academy

  • It also calls for changing the current eight-step hiring process to a five-step process the Transportation Department estimates will save four months

“Being an air traffic controller is one of the best, most rewarding jobs in America,” Duffy said in a statement Tuesday, shortly after touring the Federal Aviation Administration’s training academy. “I witnessed firsthand the dedication, skill and rigor that our future air traffic controllers bring to their training and the urgent need to do all that we can to recruit more people to join in our shared mission of safety in our skies.”

Duffy acknowledged a decade-long shortage of air traffic controllers and said the Trump administration “is committed to solving it.”

Last year, former President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan FAA reauthorization bill that required the agency to hire and train more air traffic controllers. At the time the bill was signed, last May, the FAA had 3,000 vacancies for the role.

Duffy's plan to “supercharge” air traffic controller hiring includes prioritizing candidates that receive the highest scores on their Air Traffic Skills Assessment Tests for training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. It also includes increasing starting salaries by 30% for candidates who attend the academy, noting that the average salary for a certified professional controller is more than $160,000 annually.

The plan also calls for changing the current eight-step hiring process to a five-step process the Transportation Department estimates will save four months.

Once trainees successfully pass through the FAA Academy, they will be assigned a tower or other facility where they will work with experienced traffic controllers as they work toward certification.

In September, the FAA announced it had exceeded its goal of hiring 1,800 air traffic controllers in 2024. It currently has more than 14,000 controllers. According to the FAA, it continuously recruits controllers with prior air traffic experience from the military as well as private industry.

Air traffic controllers are one of the most specialized and skilled professions in the federal government, the FAA said. Their job is to separate planes, navigate them through the weather and ensure that everyone gets to their destinations safely.