LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Federal Aviation Administration recruited more than 12,000 air traffic controller candidates last month, but it will still take years for the agency to fill all of its vacancies, including those in Las Vegas.
A recruiting video helped the FAA attract more than 12,000 air traffic controller candidates in 24 hours. More than 10,000 qualified to continue in the process.
But being selected is just the beginning. There is a three-hour aptitude test, followed by medical, psychological, and security screenings.
“Once you get through all that, then they decide that maybe fthey’re going to bring you on as an air traffic controller, and you will go to the academy,” said Tim Kiefer, assistant professor of air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
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Training takes years to complete
Academy training takes between four and six months to complete.
“Now you start training at that particular facility. And depending on the complexity of the facility, this can take anywhere from six months to over two years. And before you’re fully certified and fully working airplanes by yourself,” Kiefer said.
That entire process can take between one and six years.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office indicates very few applicants actually make it to that point. The GAO says between 2019 and 2024, the FAA received around 106,000 air traffic controller applications.
Around 32,000 applicants passed the aptitude test. Around 9,000 got a tentative offer from the FAA, and around 8,500 of them accepted. Around 4,600 applicants passed their medical, psychological and security screenings.
Some 3,900 actually started the academy, with 2,600 graduating. Out of the original pool of more than 100,000 applicants, around 2,300 will go on to become certified professional controllers.
That is a 2% success rate.
Kiefer said it is not a job for everyone.
“You’re going to have to be willing, like I say, do the work. You have to know that it’s not an overnight success,” he said.
Experienced controllers face same training requirements
Kiefer spent 22 years working as a certified professional controller before retiring to teach the next generation of controllers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He spent his final years in the radar center in Las Vegas after more than a decade at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
“I had for six months when I arrived, I had somebody who was plugged in with me, watching me, making sure that I was doing things correct to what Las Vegas procedures are. And I still had to go through the same classroom. I still had to take the same test. I still had to take the same simulator. I had to go as somebody who had zero experience,” Kiefer said.
The GAO theorizes that the hiring process simply takes too long for some applicants. The process has suffered through multiple government shutdowns since 2013, with each one freezing both hiring and training.
The COVID pandemic forced the suspension of training for four months and reduced the size of classes for two years. The FAA has been playing catch-up ever since.
“When you bring in a bunch of controllers, you only have so many people can train them. You only have so many positions that you can train at one given time,” Kiefer said.
The GAO report shows the number of certified air traffic controllers has dropped by 6% over the past 10 years, while the number of flights has increased by 10%. The report also indicates veteran controllers are retiring faster than their replacements can be trained.
The mandatory retirement age for air traffic controllers is 56.
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