FAA Recruits Enough Trainees, Now Lacks Enough Trainers

The Federal Aviation Administration’s recent efforts to ‘supercharge’ air traffic controller hiring have been fruitful… and now, it seems, a bit too fruitful. The surge of recruits has reportedly left Oklahoma City instructors working long hours, living in sketchy housing, and not getting paid enough to make it worthwhile.

Most instructors at the facility are retired controllers in their 60s, working under contract through Science Applications International Corp. While a new labor deal has boosted pay to about $46 an hour, this hasn’t balanced out the long hours and poor living conditions; the FAA provides only $60 a day for housing. This figure reportedly forces some instructors into long commutes or into Walnut Gardens, a low-rent apartment complex nicknamed “The Nut,” conveniently located next to a rowdy strip club.

Schedules show how quickly conditions have shifted. In early March, only six of the 105 instructors were booked for double shifts. By September, that number is expected to hit 42. Those doubles mean back-to-back eight-hour teaching blocks, often stretching days from 7 am to midnight. Some instructors accept the shifts for extra pay, but others have refused, citing exhaustion and safety concerns. Several described colleagues “walking around like zombies” by the end of their shifts… hardly the ideal state for teaching safety-critical aviation skills.

In July, about 550 trainees were enrolled at the academy, reflecting the FAA’s pledge to hire roughly 2,000 new controllers this fiscal year. By 2028, the agency hopes to add nearly 9,000 more. But internal reports acknowledge a “practical limit” to how many can realistically be trained given the instructor imbalance.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has proposed bringing in “expert educators” with no air traffic control background to help carry the load, insisting they can be just as effective as former controllers. However, the FAA has refused to release data backing this claim. Current instructors are unconvinced and remain firm that there is no substitute for lived tower experience.

FMI: www.faa.gov