10 U.S. Schools Now Let ATC Candidates Skip FAA Academy

Sacramento City College becomes the 10th American institution to join the agency’s Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI).

Jack Daleo

Friday, January 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Daleo

Air traffic management student Hailee Williamson trains in the tower lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, one of 10 Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI) schools. [Credit: Embry‑Riddle/Bill Fredette-Huffman]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is actively expanding its air traffic controller training capacity through initiatives like the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI), adding Sacramento City College as its 10th member, to address a chronic shortage of approximately 3,000 controllers.
The E-CTI program provides an identical curriculum to the FAA Academy, allowing graduates to directly proceed to facility-specific training after meeting requirements, thereby streamlining their path to becoming certified air traffic controllers.
Beyond E-CTI, the FAA is implementing various recruitment and retention strategies, including raising starting salaries, offering hiring and retention bonuses, streamlining the application process, and modernizing its air traffic control infrastructure.
Despite these efforts, the FAA continues to face a significant, decade-long staffing challenge characterized by persistent underhiring, controller attrition, and increasing air traffic volume, projecting only a modest net gain in controllers by 2028.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The FAA is expanding its capacity to train air traffic controllers (ATCs) as it contends with a chronic shortage of about 3,000 certified professional controllers (CPCs).

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday announced Sacramento City College in California as the 10th member of the FAA’s Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (E-CTI). The E-CTI provides the exact same curriculum and technology as the FAA’s ATC Academy in Oklahoma City.