FAA Lost Up to 500 Air Traffic Controller Trainees During Shutdown

The Federal Aviation Administration lost hundreds of air traffic controller trainees during the recent 43-day government shutdown, FAA chief Bryan Bedford told lawmakers on Wednesday Dec. 17.

“We lost, I don’t know, 400, 500 of our trainees that just sort of gave up during the lapse,” Bedford said during a Senate aviation subcommittee hearing.

The agency managed to keep its training academy in Oklahoma City open by reallocating funds during the shutdown, but Bedford said that was not enough to reassure many trainees.

“Even though we kept the school open, I think the thought of not being paid was enough to frighten them away,” he added.

The loss of trainees is a setback for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has made rebuilding the air traffic control workforce a priority amid chronic staffing shortages, high-stress working conditions and aging technology across the National Airspace System. During the shutdown, fully qualified controllers working in towers, TRACONs and en-route centers were required to report to work without pay.

Under questioning from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bedford acknowledged that trainee washout rates are already high. Still, he noted some progress: the number of certified controllers has risen slightly—from 10,600 to 10,700—and the trainee pipeline now includes about 1,000 more candidates than a year ago.

“But as you point out, it’s a two- to three-year full training cycle,” Bedford said, emphasizing that replacing lost trainees will take time.

Bedford also provided an update on the FAA’s effort to upgrade air traffic control telecommunications infrastructure by replacing copper wiring with fiber optics. That project is now 35 percent complete and is expected to finish in the third quarter of 2027.


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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, politico.com