U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a new package of incentives and actions through the Federal Aviation Administration would “supercharge” the air traffic controller workforce.
The package, unveiled on Thursday, will allow more candidates to get into air traffic facilities and on the job faster, Duffy said, as well as increase retention. Duffy first launched the program in February.
“In our first 100 days, this administration has made more progress on addressing the air traffic controller shortage than the last one did in four years.” Duffy said. “But there’s more work to be done to secure our skies. Today’s actions will supercharge the air traffic controller workforce from both (the) retention and hiring side of the equation – bringing us one step closer to reversing decades of staffing declines.”
Officials said the FAA is on track to hire 2,000 air traffic controllers this year after announcing in March a 30 percent increase in air traffic controller pay. Duffy also streamlined the hiring process by changing the 8-step hiring process to a 5-step process, shaving five months of the time to hire. The reforms have allowed the FAA to refer more than 8,320 candidates to take the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA).
As part of the retention initiative, the FAA is offering a limited-time incentive package to keep experienced controllers from retiring. Incentives to “supercharge” the hiring pipeline include providing new opportunities for veteran military controllers; providing financial incentives for graduates and new hires for completing training milestones; rewarding academy graduates assigned to hard-to-staff facilities; and expanding the number of instructors at the Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City.
“This new recruitment award and retention incentive program is a meaningful step toward addressing the ongoing staffing shortages in air traffic control across the National Airspace System,” National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Nick Daniels said. “We thank Secretary Duffy for his commitment to recruiting and retaining the best and brightest in the air traffic control profession and look forward to working with the Department of Transportation and the FAA on controller staffing, safety improvements, and the modernization of air traffic control systems and improvements to facility infrastructure.”