The FAA said it onboarded more air traffic controller trainees in fiscal year 2026 (FY26) than in any year in the agency’s history, though the number of certified professional controllers (CPCs) remained hundreds short of headcount targets as of August.
The agency set a goal of hiring 2,200 ATC trainees in FY26 and said Thursday that it onboarded 2,235. The influx was in part due to the FAA’s recruitment of gamers, which netted more than 12,000 applications in under 24 hours, the agency said.
Still, it will take years for those individuals to enter the field. The FAA said more than 1,300 trainees graduated from its academy in Oklahoma City in FY26, but they will need to complete facility-specific training, which can take years, before being fully certified to oversee airspace.
During a hearing in September, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford testified that there were about 11,000 CPCs deployed to 313 ATC facilities, with 4,000 individuals in the training pipeline. The 11,000 figure, which was unchanged since April, is about 1,500 short of the FAA’s FY26 target of 12,563, set by a workforce blueprint released in May.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said it was left out of the calculation of that target, which is less than the FAA’s previous headcount goal of 14,633 CPCs.
An FAA blueprint calls for the agency to hire 2,300 new controller trainees in FY27 and 2,400 in FY28. The agency’s FY27 budget request includes about $95 million to support that effort.
“Meeting this year’s hiring goal is an important milestone, but it’s not the finish line,” Bedford said in a statement. “We are focused on continuing to bring the best and the brightest people into the profession, giving them the training and tools they need to succeed, and building a stronger, more resilient air traffic control workforce.”
The FAA said it saw the highest number of air traffic academy students in its history in June. That is due in part to an expansion of training capacity, as well as incentives such as bonuses that were introduced in 2025 and ’26. The agency also continues to expand partnerships with universities, certifying them to provide the same training that the Oklahoma City academy does.
It is also undertaking a multibillion-dollar modernization effort that is replacing antiquated ATC systems and installing upgraded hardware and software.
Still, Bedford in September refused to commit to giving active controllers a 3.8 percent pay raise, which is provided for by legislation passed earlier this year. The administrator said he has the “utmost respect” for controllers but that “Congress asked me to look for ways to improve staffing efficiency,” contending that raises are not the only way to do so.
