The Federal Aviation Administration has recruited more than 2,000 air traffic controller candidates through a gamer-focused hiring drive, with another 2,000-plus applicants moving through the pipeline to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy framed the campaign as one of the agency’s strongest recent recruiting efforts, with the FAA reaching 94% of its hiring target after launching the initiative in April.
The programme was designed to attract candidates with skills linked to video gaming, including multitasking, spatial awareness, problem-solving and rapid decision-making. It has also drawn unusually strong interest, with about 12,000 applications filed within 24 hours of the hiring window opening.
The FAA is using the push to help ease long-running staffing pressure in U.S. air traffic control, where recruitment is constrained by age limits, medical checks, testing and security screening. The latest figures indicate that the academy funnel is filling faster than in previous campaigns, giving the regulator a larger pool of prospective controllers as it works to rebuild staffing levels.