The United States aviation system is facing one of its most pressing challenges in decades: a shortage of air traffic controllers, compounded by a lack of instructors to train the next generation. This guide explains why the bottleneck exists, how it affects safety and efficiency, and what solutions are being explored. Readers can expect a balanced examination of training complexities, policy responses, historical context, international comparisons, and forward-looking solutions that could shape the future of US airspace management.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) is the backbone of modern aviation, ensuring the safe and efficient movement of thousands of flights daily. Yet with more than 3,000 positions unfilled, the FAA is under pressure to expand its training pipeline. The challenge is compounded by an insufficient supply of qualified instructors, threatening to slow progress at precisely the time when demand is peaking. Addressing this shortage is more than operational; it is about maintaining global competitiveness in aviation, reducing delays, and sustaining passenger confidence in the US airspace system.
The Scale Of The Shortage: Why The Instructor Gap Matters
As stated by the Washington Post, the United States is facing a dual crisis in air traffic control staffing : a shortage of certified controllers and a shortage of instructors to train them. The FAA’s Oklahoma City Academy, the primary training hub, is operating at maximum capacity, yet still cannot meet demand.
In September 2025, the FAA responded with larger trainee classes and more hiring drives, including an unusually large 600-person intake at the Oklahoma City Academy, roughly double the size of an average class.
Nevertheless, academy throughput depends on classroom space, simulator availability, and, in a decisive way, the number of qualified instructors. Without experienced trainers to supervise simulations and mentor trainees, increasing admissions delivers less value.
Trainees need sustained one-on-one and small-group time to develop the judgment essential for live operations. Current instructor demographics show a concentration in older age brackets. A large share of the teaching force falls in the 50–69 range, with a meaningful fraction above 70.
This aging profile reflects career pathways (retirees returning to work as instructors), but it also signals vulnerability: a wave of retirements or disengagement could rapidly reduce training capacity. Reports show instructors working double shifts and 17-hour days, with morale at the academy at an all-time low.
Because many are hired through contractors like Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) , they often earn lower pay and receive fewer benefits than FAA employees, making recruitment and retention even harder. The shortage of instructors creates a practical limit on the throughput of trainees. Even with record enrollment, the bottleneck means fewer graduates enter the workforce each year.
Attrition exacerbates the bottleneck. About one-third of academy students do not complete the program, and the cost per unsuccessful trainee, roughly $130,000 in academy resources alone, creates a substantial fiscal drag. Long-term solutions therefore must address recruitment, retention, and training completion rates, not just the number of seats available at the academy.
How The Training Pipeline Works And Where It Breaks Down
Becoming a certified Air Traffic Controller is a long and rigorous process. Candidates must first pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA), meet strict medical and security requirements, and then complete several months of intensive training at the FAA Academy. This is followed by two to four years of on-the-job training at an assigned facility, depending on its complexity.
The bottleneck occurs at multiple points:
- Academy capacity:The FAA’s Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, the primary training hub for air traffic controllers, can train approximately 1,500–1,800 students annually at full capacity. However, this falls short of the 1,800–2,000 controllers needed yearly to address shortages, retirements, and growing air traffic demands. Infrastructure limitations, such as finite classroom space and simulators, combined with a 20–30% trainee washout rate, reduce effective output to 1,200–1,400 certified controllers per year.
- Instructor availability: A 15–20% shortage of qualified instructors at the academy restricts class sizes to 10–12 students and limits one-on-one instruction, reducing training quality and extending timelines. Instructors, who must be certified professional controllers with extensive experience, are in short supply due to reluctance to leave operational roles and lengthy certification processes. The FAA is piloting incentives and university partnerships to address this bottleneck.
- On-the-job training delays:Understaffed air traffic control facilities, operating at 60–80% of required staffing levels, struggle to allocate certified controllers for on-the-job training (OJT), delaying trainee certification by 6 months to 3 years. High-complexity facilities face the most significant backlogs, exacerbating controller shortages, increasing overtime, and contributing to flight delays. The FAA is exploring dedicated training towers and enhanced simulators to mitigate these delays.
Compensation is another critical factor shaping the controller pipeline. While the FAA offers stable and comparatively high wages for fully certified controllers, pay during the training period is modest. This creates a gap between the demands of the profession and the incentives offered to new entrants. The following table outlines the typical pay progression from trainees to top-earning controllers:
|
Career Stage |
Typical Annual Pay (USD) |
|---|---|
|
FAA Academy Trainee |
~$37,000 – $45,000 |
|
On-the-Job Training (Facility) |
~$50,000 – $75,000 |
|
Median Certified Controller |
~$103,000 |
|
Top Earners (Complex Facilities) |
$150,000+ |
Source: FAA Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan FY 2025-2028
Even with initiatives like the Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI), which allows universities to deliver equivalent training, the transition from classroom to operational readiness remains slow. Without enough instructors, these programs cannot scale to meet national demand.
Safety And Efficiency Risks From The Staffing Bottleneck
The US is experiencing a significant air traffic controller shortage, with the FAA needing thousands more controllers than currently employed, leading to mandatory overtime and reduced air traffic capacity. Understaffed facilities often operate below safe staffing targets. In some cases, towers have only two controllers on duty when four are required. Fatigue is another growing concern with many controllers constantly working overtime, sometimes up to 10 hours per shift, according to Aviation Today. This increases the risk of operational errors, especially in congested airspace like New York, where the FAA has already capped flights due to staffing shortages.
The shortage of controllers and instructors is not just a workforce challenge, it’s a safety issue. Investigators are currently examining whether staffing levels contributed to a deadly January 2025 collision in Washington, D.C., involving a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. While the final report is pending, the incident highlights the consequences of overworked towers.
The operational strain forces airlines to adjust schedules, divert flights, and accept delays even in perfect weather. For passengers, this translates into longer travel days, missed connections, and higher fares.
Historical Context: A Problem Decades In The Making
The current shortage is the result of decades of underinvestment in training capacity. Since 2010, the FAA’s controller workforce has declined by nearly 2,000 employees, a 13% reduction, due to retirements, attrition, and hiring freezes during government shutdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Historically, the FAA relied on the Oklahoma City Academy as the sole gateway into the profession. This centralized model created a single point of failure: any disruption, such as a shutdown, halted training nationwide, or simply ATC students not coping with the workload on time can lead to a snowball effect, failing to enter the workforce when needed, as described by CBS news.Another negative event in the ATC world, the 1981 PATCO Strike, in which President Reagan fired over 11,000 controllers, remains a stark reminder of how staffing crises can impair the system.
|
Year |
Certified Controllers |
Facilities Below Target |
|---|---|---|
|
2010 |
14,000+ |
~20% |
|
2020 |
~11,900 |
~50% |
|
2025 |
10,800 |
77% |
Despite periodic hiring surges, the long training timeline means gains are slow. Even with the FAA’s plan to hire 8,900 controllers by 2028, attrition will leave a net increase of only about 1,000 certified professionals.
Policy And Industry Efforts To Expand Capacity
Recognizing the urgency, both Congress and the administration have supported measures to accelerate and expand hiring. These include streamlined applications, incentive pay for hard-to-staff facilities, and bonuses for trainees who complete the program.
The FAA’s Enhanced AT-CTI program is central to these reforms, allowing approved colleges to deliver the same curriculum as the Academy. This decentralizes training and could eventually double throughput. However, scaling these programs requires recruiting more instructors, a challenge given the low pay and demanding hours.
Industry experts warn that without sustained funding and better working conditions for instructors, these initiatives will fall short. The FAA is also exploring hiring educators from science and engineering backgrounds to teach introductory courses, freeing retired controllers to focus on advanced operational training.
International comparisons highlight the stakes. NAV Canada has successfully modernized training with advanced simulators and partnerships with universities. In Europe, Eurocontrol’s SESAR program integrates new technologies and harmonized procedures across member states, but at the same time, it has numerous training centers all across the continent. By contrast, the US has been slower in decentralizing and modernizing, leaving it at risk of falling behind global peers.
The Road Ahead: Long-Term Solutions And Outlook
Addressing the instructor shortage will require a multipronged approach: increasing pay and benefits, expanding decentralized training programs, leveraging technology, and improving retention among current controllers to reduce the training burden.
Experts estimate it could take five to ten years to fully correct staffing imbalances, even with aggressive hiring. In the meantime, airlines and passengers will need to adapt to a system operating under strain, with potential delays and reduced capacity.
Looking further ahead, technology offers both challenges and opportunities. Virtual reality simulators could allow more flexible, decentralized training, while AI-powered instruction could help one trainer oversee multiple students simultaneously. Remote tower technology, already in use in Sweden and the UK, could also reduce staffing needs at smaller airports, freeing resources for busier hubs.
The stakes are high. Air traffic control is not just another operational function; it is the invisible infrastructure that keeps the nation’s skies safe, efficient, and competitive. Without enough instructors to train the next generation, the US risks falling behind in global aviation standards, facing more frequent delays, and potentially compromising safety. The path forward will demand sustained investment, innovative training models, and a renewed commitment to valuing the expertise of those who guide aircraft through America’s airspace.
