(NewsNation) — The Federal Aviation Administration plans to hire nearly 9,000 air traffic controllers by 2028, but it likely won’t solve its nationwide shortage of controllers outright.
In an air traffic controller workforce plan, the FAA detailed how it intends to “supercharge” hiring and training to address the shortfall of nearly 3,000 controllers. However, it also revealed losses from its current pool of staff and expects only to have about 1,000 additional certified controllers by the end of fiscal year 2028, which runs through September.
To achieve its goal of 8,900 new air traffic controllers, the FAA said it plans to start with 2,000 this year and increase that number by a few hundred in each subsequent year.
The report also revealed that it expects to lose 6,872 controllers within the same timeframe, for reasons ranging from retirements to academic dropouts, which means that they’re only looking at a net growth of just over 2,000 employees.
Another factor is the difference between an air traffic controller and a certified professional controller.
Once they finish at the academy, air traffic controllers must undergo two to three years of additional training, both on the job and in classrooms, before they are considered CPCs and are allowed to take on all of the job’s responsibilities.
The FAA reports that it only expects a net growth of about 1,000 of these CPCs, including those still in training, by the end of 2028.
What steps is the FAA taking to increase retention?
The strain on the air traffic control system has been especially evident at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, which experienced delays and cancellations after several tech outages in May.
It comes as the FAA has scrambled to address a national staffing crisis among air traffic controllers, a focal point of its efforts to improve aviation safety after a midair collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport in January that killed 67 people.
Earlier this year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced increased plans to “supercharge” the air traffic control workforce. As part of this, starting salaries for air traffic controller students will increase by nearly 30%.
Duffy also announced a 20% salary bonus for anyone eligible to retire but below the mandatory retirement age who decides to stay on.
The hiring process has also been streamlined; what used to be eight steps is now just five, which Duffy has said makes the hiring process five months faster.
However, even with this streamlined process, the FAA anticipates that more than 3,000 students in the academy will fail to complete the training program.
FAA hiring air traffic controllers in NYC
On Friday, the FAA launched a weeklong targeted hiring campaign to add staff to its short-staffed Long Island, New York airspace, seeing applicants within 50 miles of it.
FAA officials require air traffic controller applicants to be 30 or younger, and they must retire by age 56.