Report Shows Continuing Lag in ATC Hiring

A recent study identified multiple factors behind the lack of FAA air traffic controllers.

Zach Vasile

Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Steve Spears

An air traffic control tower in San Francisco [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A National Academies report confirms a severe, 15-year decline in air traffic controller (ATC) staffing, with many facilities significantly understaffed due to the FAA consistently hiring fewer controllers than needed.
Key factors contributing to the shortage include high dropout rates during ATC training and certification, alongside the FAA's inability to effectively distribute controllers to understaffed facilities.
Resolving the issue requires increased Congressional funding for hiring and training, improved data collection on controller fatigue, and crucially, a more efficient system for deploying controllers to critical, understaffed locations.

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A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released on Wednesday may offer the most comprehensive view yet of the nation’s air traffic controller shortage and the potential paths to resolve it.

The National Academies, which performs research for the federal government, found that ATC staffing levels have been declining for 15 years. In 2010, the number of understaffed ATC facilities was relatively small, and some were even overstaffed, but in the following years the FAA hired only two-thirds of the controllers called for by its staffing models. By fiscal year 2024, nearly a third of ATC facilities had fallen 10% below adequate staffing levels and about 22% had fallen 15% below.