The Federal Aviation Administration has outlined an ambitious plan to expand and modernize its air traffic controller workforce, targeting the hiring of at least 8,900 new controllers by the end of fiscal 2028. The strategy, set out in the FAA’s Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan for 2025–2028 and recent departmental briefings, responds to sustained traffic growth, emerging technologies and congressional direction in the 2024 FAA reauthorization act.
The FAA hired 1,811 controllers in fiscal 2024, slightly above its 1,800 target, bringing the total controller workforce to 14,264. Under the new plan, the agency aims to hire 2,000 controllers in 2025, 2,200 in 2026, an estimated 2,300 in 2027 and 2,400 in 2028, subject to appropriations and training capacity. Officials expect the total controller workforce to grow by more than 2,000 by 2028, even as overall attrition is projected to reach 6,872 over the same period.
To sustain this pace, the FAA has redesigned its hiring pipeline, cutting the process from eight steps to five and increasing starting salaries at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City by nearly 30 percent. The agency is filling all available Academy seats, adding classroom capacity and directing additional resources to medical and security adjudications, which will each need to process at least 300 new-hire candidates per month after 2025.
The plan also leans on new recruitment tracks. A year-round hiring pathway is being opened for experienced controllers from the military and private industry, while an expanded Enhanced Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative is intended to allow qualified graduates to bypass the Academy and report directly to field facilities. The FAA reports that more than 16,450 applicants responded to controller vacancy announcements in fiscal 2024.
Officials say the hiring surge is designed not only to replace retirements and other losses, but also to account for expected increases in training washouts as intake grows. The workforce strategy is framed around maintaining safe and efficient operations amid rising traffic and the integration of new entrants such as drones, advanced air mobility aircraft and commercial space operations.