The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a massive new drive for air traffic controller recruits but it doesn’t have enough instructors to teach its newcomers.
Many of the teachers at the FAA’s training facility in Oklahoma City are retired former controllers who are in their mid-60’s, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The influx of recruits means teachers are working from 7 a.m. to midnight, with just a $60 daily housing allowance to pay their rent while they teach.
A new labor contract for the teachers has boosted their pay — they now earn around $46 per hour — but that hasn’t made their hours any more bearable.
Bloomberg obtained shift schedules and emails from the academy with eight current instructors. The instructors spoke to the publication on the condition of anonymity over fears of reprisal. Most of the instructors at the school are employed by Science Applications International Corp which is a federal contractor.
Based on the information Bloomberg obtained it seems the FAA’s drive is working; in July, 550 students were enrolled at the facility. That influx of trainees also saw the increase in double shifts required of instructors.
On March 6, only six of the 105 instructors at the facility had double shifts scheduled for that day. An upcoming schedule for September 2 suggests that 42 instructors from that same group will be working double shifts.
Some instructors welcome the doubles as they mean more money, but other instructors are refusing the shifts, telling the publication they were concerned for their physical and mental health.
One instructor told Bloomberg the double shifts have left some instructors “walking around like zombies.”
Instructors scheduled for double shifts often don’t get to sleep until 1 a.m., and then have to wake again around 5 a.m. to prepare for their daily instruction.
Many told Bloomberg they did not feel it was possible to give students their best instruction by the end of two eight-hour teaching shifts.
The Independent has requested comment from the FAA.
The push for more controllers comes after the FAA ended 2024’s fiscal year approximately 3,900 controllers short of its target numbers.
The lack of staff was exacerbated by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE firing air traffic controllers in an effort to pare down the federal government’s workforce. The agency said it planned to hire approximately 2,000 controllers this fiscal year and is hoping that a fast-tracked hiring process and a boost to offered salaries for starting controllers will bring in the needed numbers.
The FAA hopes to hire 8,900 new controllers by the end of 2028 but noted in a recent report that the number of available instructors at the Oklahoma City training facility means there is a “practical limit” on how many controllers it can feasibly hire in that time.
One potential fix to the problem has been floated by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has pitched using teaching assistants and “expert educators” who have not previously worked as aircraft controllers to make up the difference in air traffic controllers.
Under that plan, the teachers who do not have previous air traffic control experience would begin teaching just months after they’re hired and trained.
The FAA told Bloomberg that it has data showing that teachers without air traffic control experience can teach the information just as well as a former air traffic controller but the agency declined to provide it to the outlet.
The current instructors are skeptical of that claim. They told Bloomberg that nothing can replace practical, lived experience as an air traffic controller.
Part of the issue facing the training academy is that there’s little incentive beyond modest pay for retired controllers to make the trip to Oklahoma City to teach the next generation of controllers. Those from outside of the city only have their $60 daily rent reimbursement before they’re paying for their rented rooms out of their own pockets. Many instructors can’t afford rooms in the city and have to commute to the training facility from as far as 30 minutes away while they’re teaching.
The down-market apartment complex where instructors stay — called “The Nut” due to its location in Walnut Gardens — is next door to a strip club known for being rowdy. One instructor told Bloomberg he refused to let his wife stay in the complex during one of her visits, fearing for her safety.
In January, the daily housing reimbursement will increase to $90 under a new labor agreement.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union representing the instructors — was grateful for the increase in both wages and daily housing funds, but noted that “we still have some work to do to help us recruit and retain instructors while improving quality of life for a workforce that has carried a heavy load to meet the mission.”
