Controller Resignations ‘Growing by the Day,’ Union Says

‘Four to five’ have bowed out so far.

Ryan Ewing

Monday, November 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport [Credit: Mark Stebnicki/Pexels]

Key Takeaways:

The ongoing federal government shutdown is causing a surge in resignations and absenteeism among U.S. air traffic controllers, exacerbating a pre-existing severe staffing shortage across 91 percent of facilities.
Financial stress from unpaid work is compromising controllers' ability to maintain critical focus and has drastically increased daily retirements from an average of 4 to 15-20.
The union warns that these losses will have long-term negative effects on the air traffic system due to the lengthy training pipeline and urges Congress to immediately end the shutdown and compensate affected workers.

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The head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) sounded the alarm Monday on mounting resignations and absenteeism among U.S. air traffic controllers amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

In a press conference at the union’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, NATCA president Nick Daniels said only a handful of controllers had formally resigned so far—“four to five that had already resigned and growing by the day.” According to Daniels, the full tally of controllers leaving via retirement or early exit due to the shutdown remains unknown.