America’s air traffic control system is facing a problem that is becoming increasingly difficult to contain: there simply are not enough controllers to comfortably handle the workload.
Thousands of positions remain unfilled across the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), forcing many controllers to work overtime and extended schedules. At the same time, the agency is pushing ahead with changes intended to make better use of the workforce already in place.
That has created an awkward situation for the FAA and its employees. Controllers are being asked to improve productivity at a time when many say the existing staffing shortage is already placing enormous pressure on the people working inside the nation’s control towers and radar facilities.
Adding to the tension is money.
Congress approved a 2.8% increase for air traffic controllers in April, but the additional pay has yet to be fully implemented. Controllers have already received the 1% increase provided to federal employees in January, leaving the additional 2.8% as the outstanding portion.
For a workforce dealing with mandatory overtime and six-day workweeks, the delay has become a major source of frustration.
Controllers Are Already Working Long Hours
The staffing shortage is not new, but the strain it is creating has become harder to overlook.
The FAA is roughly 3,000 to 3,500 fully certified controllers short of its staffing targets. Figures cited earlier this year showed the agency had 13,164 controllers at the end of September, about 6% fewer than a decade earlier.
Those numbers help explain why some controllers are working schedules that would be difficult to sustain in almost any profession.
Retired air traffic controller Dave Riley, who worked at Denver International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, said some controllers are working as much as 10 hours a day, six days a week.
For air traffic controllers, the issue is particularly serious because the job demands constant concentration. A controller cannot simply switch off for a few minutes when traffic becomes busy. Aircraft movements have to be monitored continuously, instructions must be precise and decisions often have to be made within seconds.
Long periods of overtime can therefore take a toll on both morale and fatigue levels.
Riley has also pointed to prolonged overtime and interruptions to training as obstacles to rebuilding the workforce. That creates a difficult cycle for the FAA: staffing shortages lead to more overtime, while heavy overtime can make it harder to retain experienced employees and attract new ones.
The FAA Wants More Controllers, But Hiring Takes Time
The agency is attempting to break that cycle through a major recruitment push.
In April, the FAA said it was proposing to hire 2,300 air traffic controller trainees and requested $95.4 million for the effort. That would be an increase from the 2,038 trainees targeted in 2025.
Congress has separately approved funding to support the hiring of another 2,500 controllers in 2026.
The FAA has also changed some of its recruitment incentives. Starting salaries for candidates entering the agency’s training academy have been increased by 30%, while the hiring process has been shortened by more than four months.
There are incentives for experienced controllers as well. Retirement-eligible employees who remain below the mandatory retirement age of 56 can receive a lump-sum payment equal to 20% of their basic pay for every additional year they continue working.
The problem is that hiring a trainee does not immediately solve a staffing shortage.
New recruits have to complete training before they can become fully certified controllers. And the training pipeline itself has faced problems.
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General has been investigating high failure rates among air traffic control trainees. The FAA also previously said it lost around 400 to 500 trainees during the government shutdown last fall.
In other words, the agency is trying to recruit more people while also figuring out how to get more recruits through the demanding training process.
Why the 2.8% Raise Has Become So Controversial
The unresolved pay increase has landed in the middle of that broader staffing crisis.
Congress approved funding for the additional 2.8% increase after controllers had already received a 1% federal employee pay increase in January. The combined increase was intended to bring controller compensation in line with a 3.8% increase awarded to military personnel.
The FAA has argued that implementation of the additional increase is linked to conditions surrounding operational improvements.
According to the agency, the FAA administrator has discretion under the legislation to determine whether the increase should be applied retroactively to January. The agency has also emphasized its responsibility for workforce scheduling, staffing utilization and operational efficiency.
That position has not gone down particularly well with controllers.
The basic argument from the workforce is easy to understand: if staffing is already so low that employees are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks, asking those same employees to become more productive can feel like treating the symptom rather than the cause.
FAA Wants Controllers Spending More Time on Position
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has made workforce utilization one of the agency’s priorities.
The FAA says controllers have averaged roughly four hours working in position during an eight-hour shift. The agency believes that figure could be increased to approximately five hours.
It is also looking at watch schedules and the operating hours of individual facilities to determine whether staffing is being matched effectively with traffic demand.
From the FAA’s perspective, the changes could help squeeze more capacity out of a limited workforce.
But that approach comes with an obvious challenge.
There is a difference between improving an inefficient schedule and asking an already stretched workforce to work harder. How that distinction is handled could have a major impact on relations between the agency and its controllers.
The timing is also significant. The FAA is simultaneously asking Congress for billions of dollars to modernize the air traffic system and spending heavily on recruitment, while existing controllers remain concerned about working conditions.
Passengers Could Ultimately Feel the Impact
The staffing dispute may sound like an internal FAA issue, but the effects can quickly reach passengers.
Air traffic control facilities have to maintain safe traffic levels. When staffing is tight, there is less room to absorb unexpected problems such as severe weather, equipment issues or a sudden increase in sick calls.
A facility that is already operating with minimal staffing can be particularly vulnerable if one or two controllers are unavailable.
When that happens, the FAA may have to reduce the number of aircraft allowed into a particular piece of airspace. Those restrictions can spread well beyond the affected airport.
Aircraft may have to wait on the ground, departures can be held back and flights may be rerouted. If the disruption continues long enough, cancellations can follow.
That is why the US air traffic controller shortage matters to travelers who may never think about the people sitting behind the radar screens.
A shortage inside one facility can eventually show up as a delay on an airline departure board hundreds of miles away.
Billions Are Being Spent on the Bigger Fix
The staffing problem is also unfolding as the US government undertakes a much larger overhaul of the country’s air traffic control infrastructure.
Congress approved $12.5 billion last year for improvements to the aging system, including funding aimed at boosting hiring. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also called for another $7 billion to $10 billion for new software and technology.
The FAA is seeking additional funding for aviation safety oversight and commercial space transportation oversight as part of its broader budget plans.
Modernizing the technology could eventually make the system more resilient, but it cannot replace experienced controllers overnight.
For now, people remain at the center of air traffic control.
That makes the workforce issue particularly important. New software may improve how traffic is managed, but somebody still has to monitor the screens, issue clearances and make decisions when conditions change.
The Real Test for the FAA
The FAA now has several challenges to tackle at the same time.
It needs to recruit thousands of new controllers, improve the training pipeline, retain experienced employees and modernize an aging air traffic control system. At the same time, it wants to change scheduling and increase the amount of time controllers spend actively handling traffic.
The unresolved 2.8% pay increase has added another layer to an already difficult situation.
For controllers, the question is not simply whether they will eventually receive the additional money. It is whether the FAA’s broader strategy will actually reduce the workload that has made staffing such a pressing issue in the first place.
If hiring succeeds and training improves, the pressure on existing controllers should gradually ease. If the staffing gap persists, however, mandatory overtime and long workweeks could continue.
And that is where the issue stops being solely about FAA employees.
A healthier air traffic control workforce means a system with more room to absorb bad weather, staffing disruptions and unexpected traffic spikes. Until that workforce is rebuilt, the US aviation network will continue operating with less margin for error than it should have.
For more on Air Traffic, see: U.S. Picks Peraton for $12.5B Air Traffic Control Overhaul
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