Feb. 27 (UPI) — The Trump administration announced an air traffic control “hiring supercharge” at the FAA’s academy, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. Hiring started Thursday.
The announcement came after Duffy toured the FAA academy in Oklahoma City, during which the secretary spoke to recruits about the importance of a safe and reliable air traffic control system.
The move comes amid massive layoffs by the administration to downsize the ranks of the federal government, led by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, the work of which is unofficially being shepherded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. At least 100 probationary employees have been fired at the FAA.
On the heels of the layoffs, the FAA announcement said the move to boost hiring at the academy will bring more of the United States’ “best and brightest” into the aviation safety profession.
“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 said in the announcement. “This staffing shortage has been a known challenge for over a decade, and this administration is committed to solving it. The new streamlined hiring process is just the first step to deliver on President Trump’s agenda to prioritize the American people’s safety and modernize the federal government.”
Starting Thursday and running until March 17th, the FAA said it is opening the hiring window and making the application process more efficient and the training more affordable than it has been in the past.
The administration said it will hire recruits based on merit, raise pay for air traffic controllers by as much as 30% for qualified candidates who graduate from the academy and whittle the hiring process from eight steps to five, trimming as much as four months of the time it takes to get through the academy.
“Once these trainees successfully pass through the Academy, they’ll be assigned to a tower or other facility across the country, where they’ll work with experienced air traffic controllers toward their certification,” the FAA announcement said.
The average certified air traffic controller currently makes an annual salary of about 160,000, according to the FAA.
President Donald Trump said after the January 29th collision between a military helicopter and an American Express commercial flight near Dulles airport in Washington, D.C., that the accident was largely the result of air traffic controllers that were hired based on diversity, equity, and inclusion regulations that were established under the Biden administration, a claim for which he offered no evidence.
