Overview
- Under a workforce plan released Friday, the FAA set a full-staff goal of 12,563 certified controllers, down from a 2024 forecast of 14,633, with hires targeted at 2,200 in 2026, 2,300 in 2027 and 2,400 in 2028.
- The agency reports about 11,000 certified controllers on duty now and 4,000 trainees in the pipeline, though full certification can take up to two years and controllers must retire at age 56.
- The plan cites excessive mandatory overtime and manual, local scheduling as core problems, and it commits to automated scheduling and a data-driven staffing model that could also prompt changes to some facility hours.
- FAA leaders say they will replace decades-old analog systems with a digital network, expand simulator training and use artificial intelligence to manage traffic demand, with more than $6 billion already committed to infrastructure and new radar systems.
- Staffing remains uneven across facilities, with past studies finding roughly 30% below targets and another 30% above, which means travelers may still see delays as the agency rebalances teams and trainees work toward certification.