The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is stepping up efforts to recruit thousands of new air traffic controllers, but a shortage of instructors threatens to undermine the programme.
At the FAA’s training academy in Oklahoma City, many of the teachers are retired controllers in their mid-60s. With a surge in student numbers, they are now working double shifts stretching from 7am to midnight.
Although a new labour contract has raised their pay to around $46 (£35) an hour and increased their daily housing allowance from $60 to $90 from January, many instructors say the workload is unsustainable.
Documents obtained by Bloomberg show that while only six of 105 instructors were scheduled for double shifts on 6 March, by early September that number is set to rise to 42. Some staff said the long hours were leaving them “walking around like zombies” and questioning whether they could provide quality instruction.
The FAA ended the last financial year nearly 4,000 controllers short of its target. It aims to hire around 2,000 this year and almost 9,000 by 2028.
But the agency has admitted that the limited number of instructors means there is a “practical limit” on how many recruits can be trained at once.
To help plug the gap, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has suggested employing “expert educators” without prior controller experience to assist with training.
The FAA insists data shows such teachers can be effective, but current instructors remain sceptical, arguing that nothing replaces lived experience in the control tower.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union representing the instructors, welcomed the recent pay and housing allowance increases but said more must be done to recruit and retain staff, warning the existing workforce is carrying an unsustainable load.
