Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a $5 hourly pay increase for air traffic controller trainees, raising their salary from $17.61 to $22.84, amid efforts to enhance recruitment and retention. This change, expected to take effect within a month, aims to address the rising cost of living and assist trainees financially during their training. Duffy also plans to fast-track high-scoring applicants and improve the hiring process, as over 90% of air traffic control facilities are understaffed. Additionally, he highlighted the need to upgrade outdated technology. Duffy emphasized the urgency of addressing air traffic control challenges following several recent safety incidents.
On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will raise the hourly wage for air traffic controller trainees by $5 in an effort to improve recruitment and retention rates.
During a press briefing at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, where air traffic controllers receive training, Mr. Duffy indicated that the new wage would increase trainee pay from $17.61 to $22.84 per hour. He anticipates the increase will take effect within the next month.
“The cost of living has risen,” Mr. Duffy remarked, explaining that the pay increase aims to ensure that trainees earn “a wage that can support them while they attend school.”
Mr. Duffy confirmed that the necessary funds for this pay raise are readily available and will not require a congressional request.
Additionally, Mr. Duffy outlined his strategy to expedite the onboarding of high-scoring applicants into available positions at the academy, preventing the loss of qualified candidates while they await placement. He also expressed his intention to improve the FAA’s current slow and inefficient hiring procedures.
While touring the facility, Mr. Duffy engaged with trainees to learn about the difficulties they face in their roles and to observe their training processes directly.
A New York Times analysis reports that over 90% of the nation’s air traffic control facilities are currently understaffed. Mr. Duffy noted that some control towers are in disrepair.
Beyond staffing challenges, Mr. Duffy mentioned the urgent need to modernize outdated technology, highlighting expensive maintenance costs tied to the agency’s aging rotary phones.
“It was once economical technology, but now it’s costly due to the lack of available parts,” Mr. Duffy explained. “There aren’t many people around who can repair a rotary phone, given its age.”
While the challenges faced by the nation’s air traffic control system have existed long before Mr. Duffy took office, addressing these issues became a priority for President Trump following a series of accidents and near-misses, including a tragic incident on January 29, when an American Airlines regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter above the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., resulting in 67 fatalities—the deadliest commercial plane crash in the U.S. in over a decade.
Recently, the FAA experienced a loss of approximately 400 employees due to the restructuring of the federal government under the Trump administration.
Although air traffic controllers and aviation safety inspectors were exempt from these cuts, union representatives claim that critical support personnel were laid off.
Mr. Duffy reassured that the agency will persist in hiring air traffic controllers.
“I refuse to let lives be lost due to a failing air traffic control system, and we are running out of time,” Mr. Duffy asserted.